Equal Pay Act Analysis

This is a plea to action. The gender wage gap is silent but on going debate. Employees are told to not discuss pay and salary by threat of job security, the threat keeps everyone silent so the pay differnce isn’t seen or noticed. In 1963, the Equal Pay Act was introudced. It promised to close the wage gap by essentislly making gender discrimination in wages illegal. For the past 50 years, in the presence of The Equal Pay Act , there is still a massive differnce between men and women.

This document is for the Coalition of Labor Union Women. Helping working womens voices be heard on a mass scales is imparitive for this change. The CLUWs support in taking on this project would be a renewed step towards closeing the wage gap. After reading this problem analysis document please send me an email of your thoughts on this project.

Abstract

This paper looked into what has been done to close the gender wage gap in America. In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was introduced but it wasnt as effective as it promised to be. The Equal Pay Act over 50 years has ever so slowly only closed the gap by twenty cents per dallor a male makes. The paper discussed by creating a law that makes wages transparent and by a social effort the gap can be closed. Since salary isnt a topic businesses allow the employess to openly discuss not many women have the knowlegde that they are underpaid by about twenty percent. To validate the take on gender wage gaps, I analyzed big companies and compared the wages they have for male and females against eachother. My finding were in sync with all the talk about the gender pay differnce. Women on aveage earn 79 cents for every dollar a male makes.

look at how the gender wage gap began, what was done to close the gap and what can be done to close it further. The paper will also analyalize some of the top companies to validate the claims and purpose of the paper and to actualy look at the differnces. Some of the top companies that we will be analyzing are Microsoft, Amazon, Walmart, Target and Nike, we will look at the gender wage differnces within each company. A couple of the compnies listed are male dominated industries but women have also entered the same markets and should have the same opportunity as a males.

Introduction

A problem that Americans are facing is the inequality between men and women, whether it is in everyday life or in a professional atmosphere. One step that has been taken toward equality was introduced with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, signed by President John F. Kennedy. This law was the first affecting the amount of job opportunities available for women and allowing them to work in traditionally male dominated fields. On the outside, this would sound like a solution where nothing could possibly go wrong, but it is not.

Fifty-three years after President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act (EPA) women still earn just about 79 cents for every dollar men earn, according to the American Association of University Women (AAUW). That means the law isn’t (and hasn’t been) working like it’s supposed to. Sadly, that 79 cents which equates to a 21 percent gap — is considered progress, a disgracefully inadequate amount of progress, but progress all the same. When the Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1963, women earned 59 cents on the dollar compared to men. In half a century, we’ve come up just 20 cents. So why has progression been so slow?

The Equal Pay Act was introduced but, consisted of loopholes. The Equal Pay Act prohibits sex-based wage discrimination, but the act allows for men to be paid a higher wage than their female counterparts on the basis of seniority, merit, productivity, and a differential based on any other factor other than sex. This vague language makes it difficult for women to prove they were paid less than a male counterpart because of their gender.

Body

When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law, he hoped that it would allow working women to finally earn the same amount of money as men; however, more than half a century later, men continue to out earn women in almost every field of work. Male dominated fields tend to pay more than female dominated fields at similar skill levels. In 2012, women earned an average of $691 per week while men earned an average of $854 per week. Furthermore, the majority of women remain unaware that they are earning less than their male colleagues. The gender wage gap not only harms a woman’s ability to provide for herself, it also harms many children and families. Women are now the primary caregivers in nearly two-thirds of American households. The fact that most women earn less than their male counterparts makes it incredibly difficult for these families to pay for their basic needs. With little to no progress in closing the wage gap in recent years, legislative acts more powerful than simply requiring equal pay must be taken. Despite the potential challenges in passing and enforcing the law, the United States Federal Government needs to pass an act requiring all employees to share their pay rate with their coworkers.

Although making employees share their wages with their coworkers will help close the gender wage gap, the inherent problems in creating and passing a law will present serious obstacles. It takes time to produce a new law. A bill must go through several steps before it becomes a law. The bill may float around the House of Representatives and the Senate for several years before ending up on the President’s desk. Even if the bill does eventually reach the President, nobody can guarantee that he or she will sign it into a law. After earning lower wages than men since they obtained the right to work, the women of America simply do not have the time to wait for a bill to make its way through the entire legal process. The problem of the gender wage gap needs fixing now, not in ten years when a proposed bill finally becomes a law. Additionally, an act requiring people to share their wages will prove hard to enforce. Employers have historically discouraged their workers from sharing the details of their pay. Convincing people to abandon a value that society has instilled in them for so long will prove difficult. Even though no law against sharing wages currently exists, many employers force their employees to keep their pay a secret through threats of retaliation and job loss. Even with passing a law requiring employees to share their wages, the government cannot promise that bosses will stop these threats. If employees do not share their wages, it will still be extremely difficult for women to realize they earn less than their male counterparts; therefore, women will have difficulties arguing for higher wages. Passing a law requiring all employees to share their pay rate with their coworkers presents significant challenges, but it is necessary to create pay equality between men and women.

A law demanding that all workers share their pay rates will give women better tools to fight gender and racial wage discrimination. Nowadays, most women remain unaware that their employers underpay them. Women cannot argue for higher wages if they do not know they earn less than their male equivalents. Each employee sharing their salary will allow women to detect if they are earning less than their male colleagues with little difficulty. This will give women the tools needed to argue for a higher pay rate, and will help lower the wage gap. If a female worker goes to her boss with statistical evidence that she earns less than her male associates, the chances that her boss will award her a higher salary significantly increase. The law will make it almost impossible for companies to pay their male workers more than their female workers. Furthermore, a law requiring employees to share their salaries will bring to light other forms of wage discrimination. The wage gap not only represents gender discrimination in the workplace, it also reflects the ongoing issue of racial discrimination. While white women do typically earn less than white men, they out earn the majority of female colored workers in America. The average African American female makes only 64 cents for the white man’s dollar. Additionally, Hispanic women receive only 54 cents to their white male coworker’s dollar. If women of color become aware of how little they earn compared to an equally skilled white male coworker, they will gain the opportunity to fight for and gain higher wages. Women of color complaining to their superiors that they unfairly earn less than their equally talented male associates will not only assist in lowering the gender wage gap, it will also help end the racial differences in pay rates that have always existed in the workplace. Requiring employees to reveal their pay rate will uncover the racial and gender pay discrepancy in addition to providing women with the necessary tools to help close both gaps.

Not only has requiring laborers to share their wages already been proven to lower the wage gap, it will also lead to increased productivity in the workplace. Employees often overestimate their coworkers’ pay when it is kept a secret. This leads to overall lower job satisfaction, which in turn hurts workplace productivity. In general, employees work more productively when pay structures are transparent and predictable. If employees become aware of the wages their associates earn, they will know where they stand in their company, and they will feel happier. This will lead to increased workplace efficiency and will help businesses in the United States increase their profits. Additionally, pay transparency has already helped lower the wage gap in several countries. Britain, Austria, and Belgium have all signed laws requiring employees working in the countries to report their wages. These legislations provided the pressure needed to force companies to increase working women’s wages. PricewaterhouseCoopers, a multinational professional services network, released its British employees’ wages to the public in 2013. The report shows a clear separation between the wages that male and female workers in the company earned that year. Since then, the business has proceeded to work on lowering their gender wage gap, and their pay discrepancy has significantly decreased. A pay transparency law has already succeeded in lowering the wage gap in many countries. There is no reason a similar law will not have the same impact in the United States. The United States Federal Government should pass a law requiring workers to engage in pay transparency because similar acts have already been proven to lower the wage gap, and the law will help increase workforce productivity.

The United States Federal Government needs to create a law requiring all employees to share their salaries with their coworkers. Although this act will help close the gender wage gap, because it has to go through the entire legal system, it will take a long time to pass. Since sharing salaries has historically been discouraged, the law will prove hard to enforce. However, providing women with the values of their male coworkers’ salaries will provide them will the tools needed to fight for higher wages. By sharing the details of workers’ salaries, the law will also uncover other types of discrimination, such as racial wage discrimination. Additionally, because they will know their professional standings in their companies, allowing employees to know their colleagues’ pay rates will increase productivity in the workplace, and will lead to higher overall job satisfaction. By actively sharing salaries, recognition of the gender wage gap will arise and push congress to look into the Paycheck Fairness Act sooner. This process succeeded in decreasing the wage gap in several companies in multiple countries, including the British headquarters of Pricewaterhousecooper: their gender wage gap has significantly decreased after publishing their employees’ wages in 2013. More than 50 years after President John F Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law.

It is time to finally present women with the equal pay rates they need to succeed in the workplace and in life.Not only has requiring laborers to share their wages already been proven to lower the wage gap, it will also lead to increased productivity in the workplace. Employees often overestimate their coworkers’ pay when it is kept a secret. This leads to overall lower job satisfaction, which in turn hurts workplace productivity. In general, employees work more productively when pay structures are transparent and predictable. If employees become aware of the wages their associates earn, they will know where they stand in their company, and they will feel happier. This will lead to increased workplace efficiency and will help businesses in the United States increase their profits. Additionally, pay transparency has already helped lower the wage gap in several countries. Britain, Austria, and Belgium have all signed laws requiring employees working in the countries to report their wages. These legislations provided the pressure needed to force companies to increase working women’s wages. PricewaterhouseCoopers, a multinational professional services network, released its British employees’ wages to the public in 2013. The report shows a clear separation between the wages that male and female workers in the company earned that year. Since then, the business has proceeded to work on lowering their gender wage gap, and their pay discrepancy has significantly decreased. A pay transparency law has already succeeded in lowering the wage gap in many countries. There is no reason a similar law will not have the same impact in the United States. The United States Federal Government should pass a law requiring workers to engage in pay transparency because similar acts have already been proven to lower the wage gap, and the law will help increase workforce productivity.

The United States Federal Government needs to create a law requiring all employees to share their salaries with their coworkers. Although this act will help close the gender wage gap, because it has to go through the entire legal system, it will take a long time to pass. Since sharing salaries has historically been discouraged, the law will prove hard to enforce. However, providing women with the values of their male coworkers’ salaries will provide them will the tools needed to fight for higher wages. By sharing the details of workers’ salaries, the law will also uncover other types of discrimination, such as racial wage discrimination. Additionally, because they will know their professional standings in their companies, allowing employees to know their colleagues’ pay rates will increase productivity in the workplace, and will lead to higher overall job satisfaction. By actively sharing salaries, recognition of the gender wage gap will arise and push congress to look into the Paycheck Fairness Act sooner. This process succeeded in decreasing the wage gap in several companies in multiple countries, including the British headquarters of Pricewaterhousecooper: their gender wage gap has significantly decreased after publishing their employees’ wages in 2013. More than 50 years after President John F Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law. It is time to finally present women with the equal pay rates they need to succeed in the workplace and in life.Not only has requiring laborers to share their wages already been proven to lower the wage gap, it will also lead to increased productivity in the workplace.

Employees often overestimate their coworkers’ pay when it is kept a secret. This leads to overall lower job satisfaction, which in turn hurts workplace productivity. In general, employees work more productively when pay structures are transparent and predictable. If employees become aware of the wages their associates earn, they will know where they stand in their company, and they will feel happier. This will lead to increased workplace efficiency and will help businesses in the United States increase their profits. Additionally, pay transparency has already helped lower the wage gap in several countries. Britain, Austria, and Belgium have all signed laws requiring employees working in the countries to report their wages. These legislations provided the pressure needed to force companies to increase working women’s wages. PricewaterhouseCoopers, a multinational professional services network, released its British employees’ wages to the public in 2013. The report shows a clear separation between the wages that male and female workers in the company earned that year. Since then, the business has proceeded to work on lowering their gender wage gap, and their pay discrepancy has significantly decreased. A pay transparency law has already succeeded in lowering the wage gap in many countries. There is no reason a similar law will not have the same impact in the United States. The United States Federal Government should pass a law requiring workers to engage in pay transparency because similar acts have already been proven to lower the wage gap, and the law will help increase workforce productivity.

The United States Federal Government needs to create a law requiring all employees to share their salaries with their coworkers. Although this act will help close the gender wage gap, because it has to go through the entire legal system, it will take a long time to pass. Since sharing salaries has historically been discouraged, the law will prove hard to enforce. However, providing women with the values of their male coworkers’ salaries will provide them will the tools needed to fight for higher wages. By sharing the details of workers’ salaries, the law will also uncover other types of discrimination, such as racial wage discrimination. Additionally, because they will know their professional standings in their companies, allowing employees to know their colleagues’ pay rates will increase productivity in the workplace, and will lead to higher overall job satisfaction. By actively sharing salaries, recognition of the gender wage gap will arise and push congress to look into the Paycheck Fairness Act sooner. This process succeeded in decreasing the wage gap in several companies in multiple countries, including the British headquarters of Pricewaterhousecooper: their gender wage gap has significantly decreased after publishing their employees’ wages in 2013. More than 50 years after President John F Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law. It is time to finally present women with the equal pay rates they need to succeed in the workplace and in life.

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