How does the Wage Gap affect Women? (2000 word draft)
The topic I want to do for my research proposal is in the category discrimination. Specifically, the topic is about how the wage gap is affecting women and how they are protesting and having movements and how it relates to civil unrest because of the wage gap. One movement is the #metoo movement which can show how unequal wages can contribute to negative side effects in the work environment for women. The negative effects of the wage gap between men and women are sexual harassment, sexual assault, and the fear of losing their jobs if they speak out against the harassment and assault. By doing this, men can show their dominance and power over women. One women who had spoke out against the sexual harassment in the work environment is Anita Hill. She stepped out and accused the Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, of sexually harassing her in the work environment. There are also celebrities like Serena Williams who spoke about her pay difference between genders when she got her pay for playing tennis. She received significantly less than she deserve unlike her fellow tennis player (male) who received a significantly higher amount. Women have been suffering from the wage gap for centuries, however to this day they still don’t get the pay they deserve. Women only make 80 cents to a dollar of what a man makes. The more higher up the job is, the more the difference is noticeable. Compared to men, women are being paid less for the same amount of work at the same exact job. Women can lose out to $10,000 a year because of the gap. I also want to talk about how the wage gap is not the same in minorities or women of color cases. If you fit the category of being a minority or women of color, you make less than what the average white women makes (80 cents). You would make an average of 53 cents (to a dollar that a men makes) as a Latina, and 61 cents if you were a women of color. They are impacted severely because they remain in poverty because this reason. They are also impacted because minorities and women of color tend to be discriminated against the most and it is hard for them to get out of poverty because of the wage gap. Being a mother is also very difficult for working women. With children in the picture, mothers have to sacrifice their time to take care of them rather than working. It also plays a role in why mothers who are considered women of color and minorities are likely to stay in poverty. They work less which results in them being paid less and have less time to make ends meet for their families. This is why I wanted to do my research proposal on the wage gap which women are still suffering from and explain the effects/consequences it has on women today.
The wages of men and women are significantly different in all work environments. Women are typically paid less than men in the same work industry. For instance, women are still being paid 80 cents to every dollar that a man makes in 2 . 018. When that adds up, women are basically not being paid from January 1st to March 15th. Women basically work for free for 3 months while men get paid all year long. When that adds up, women earn about $10,000 less than men. That is a lot of money women are losing every year. Based on the article, “Women Lose How Much Money In the Gender Pay Gap?” a full time working women throughout her career can have a money loss that could add up to almost $530,000. This amount may be larger if you worked at a better job.The better the job, the bigger the difference. For example, a female lawyer earns only 77 percent of a male lawyer’s pay. This shows how there is still a lack of pay increase even when women get a nice job (ex: lawyer). It makes it impossible to be on the same level as their male peers even if they have more experience or work longer hours. The wage gap makes it impossible for women to catch up to men. They would still be earning less than their male peers no matter what.
Women of color like African Americans or minorities(other than white) were mostly likely to receive even lower wages due to discrimination against their skin color. For example, African American women were paid 61 cents to every dollar a man makes and Latina women were paid 53 cents per dollar. This is a problem because it is one of the top reasons why colored women and minorities live in poverty. They cannot get out of poverty as the wages they make are very little compared to men. It is extremely difficult for them as they struggle to make ends meet which is the result in them staying in poverty with no hope of getting out of it.
Being a mother and wanting to have children while working is even more difficult if they want to have a stable job. This is also one of the reasons why women are more likely stay in poverty. Having a baby will have negative effect on the mother, as mothers go on maternity leave, and will not be paid for the time loss. They will also work less as taking care of a child is time consuming. Mothers tend to work flexible hours which only low paying jobs normally offer. Women who have children tend to stay home to take care of them. In most cases, they are only able to work when they rely on help from their families to take care of the children. This effects the time women have to work because caring for children is their main priority. With less time on their hands, they are unable to earn a lot of money and it is unfair when you compared it to men who earns way more for the same job and work. It is even more unfair if you were a women of color or a minority group. That is why women tend to stay poor because men are stereotyped as the breadwinners and women are the ones who stay at home to cook ,clean, and care for children.
This wage gap inequality has sparked many movements. It has even made popular female celebrity, Serena Williams to speak out about this issue. The #metoo movement is one movement that brought awareness to how unequal wages can cause negative side effects in the work environment. The #metoo movement is a movement that speaks up against the sexual harassment that women face in society. It is building on third wave feminism as many women speak up on how they face sexual assault and harassment due to them working in low paying work jobs. They are more vulnerable and easier to harass because most of those women live in poverty and cannot afford to lose or quit the job. Another example, is the famous case of Anita Hill. She accused Clarence Thomas, who was nominated to be the next Supreme Court Justice of sexually harassing her while she worked for him. She did not get justice and her case was dismissed, while Thomas went on to be a Supreme Court Justice. She is an great example of third wave feminism and the #metoo movement. She stood up and spoke out against her alleged sexual harassment when many women were afraid to do so. She is an inspiration to other women because she inspires and motivates many others to do the same. Popular celebrity and tennis player, Serena Williams who also suffered from this wage gap when she received $495,000 compared to her fellow tennis player Roger Federer who got $731,000 also(for defending their titles) spoke out against this. She says that women should not be scared and that they should be fearless to get it. Serena wants to inspire and encourage all women to go out and fight for their equal pay because she believes that women deserve it. She is a role model and inspiration to women because she wants to change this and brings attention to this problem with her fame.
In today’s society, women are still stereotyped as delicate and weaker than men. Society still believes and discriminates women by indicating men are still more superior and are more powerful than women. They also believe that men are smarter and do better work than women. You can see this in the corporations and higher up jobs. Most CEOS and high paying jobs are almost all of the male gender. Only a small percentage of women are CEOS. even female CEOS still suffers the wage gap inequality. They still make less than the male CEOS. According to the article, “ Closing the Gap” by Zameena Mejia, only 24 out of 500 companies have female CEOS. This meant that the rest of the 476 are male. That is a small number when you compared it to the male CEOS. Considering this amount, we can tell that men indeed do have more power. This power was obtained through stereotypes. However, it’s because of this power that they acquire the positions they have. The stereotypes that society have for women is that they cannot handle these jobs because it requires top notch skills and brains. There are stereotypes where some believe that women are not as smart and skilled as men. Through stereotypes, men were able to get better jobs than women because they are considered “better”. This is discrimination to the finest because all of these stereotypes about women aren’t true. For example, women serve in the Navy/Air force/ Marines. This job is typically a “men’s job” but women are joining and breaking these stereotypes. To serve in the military, you need to be strong and quick on your feet. You need to train and work hard in order to be accepted. These traits are stereotypically all men traits. This meant that women aren’t as slow and fragile as society thinks. It also means that both gender can do the job and it isn’t always the male gender who can.
The wage gap against women is unrightful. It is an inequality that women have been suffering for centuries. Being paid less than the male coworkers no matter how hard you work is an outrage. The amount of effort women put in the work environment should be rewarded like men’s. If you are a women of color or an minority, you are at an even bigger disadvantage. It is likely for you to be living in poverty and to stay in poverty if you are a women of color or minority. You are more at an disadvantage if you want to have children or have children to take care of. There are still stereotypes that only men should provide for the family because women shouldn’t be working and should stay home instead. It still shows how society believes that men are more superior. There is also many stereotypes that women are too weak and fragile as compared to men who are portrayed strong and tough. The amount of male CEOS to female CEOS can also show the discrimination society has on women. Men also gain power to use against women to make women feel powerless and vulnerable in the work environment. Like Anita Hill, most of them don’t get the justice or pay they deserve. It has gotten to the point where the celebrity athlete Serena Williams has to step in and raise awareness about this. Even the #metoo movement has played a part in protesting against the wage gap, and explained how sexual harassment can play apart in this. Which is why women should have equal wage pay like men because it is just unfair and needs to be changed.