And Yet, Women are Paid Less than their Male Coworkers

It is a fact that 30 out of 35 products will end up costing more for women than men. The wage gap is still alive today and continues to affect women and their families. Although these issues have been addressed plenty of times before, the government has yet to take action. The gender wage gap is more than a “feminist stand”, it is a basic civil right and discusses the inequality of how men and women are paid.

A gender wage gap is a form of gender discrimination, which is defined as prejudice against a person of a certain gender. Many are asking: “why does the wage gap still exist?”, there are people that say that it is the women’s fault, others say that pregnancy hinders a woman’s career financially and socially, and some say it has to do with our societies gender roles. No matter the reason, studies have shown that the gap broadens as the need for higher education and/or specialization goes up.

It is yet to be seen if industries will take a step forward, away from gender discrimination. While many argue that the “wage gap topic” doesn't have any major effects on our society, research proves that, “in the United States there are currently 63% of women that play a big role, and sometimes only role, in earning a wage for their households”(Anastasia, 2018). Meaning, that by paying women less, they are affecting the lives of their families. Education has nothing to do with the wage gap, for women earn more college degrees than men.

Although, colleges could be helping the future generations of women to fight for equal pay. In an article written by Elizabeth Todd Byron, she explains: “Colleges should include career development training that explores best practices for making sure that employers pay women fairly”, she adds, “Women need to learn interviewing skills that include salary bargaining”(Byron, 2018). Women need to know that employers cannot discriminate against pregnant women and that they are allowed to negotiate for their salary terms.

But gender discrimination also includes price differentiation of goods. Some basic women’s products cost more than men’s. “How much more?” you would ask. By looking at a report written by Anna Bessendorf, we can relate on her findings on how different the prices were; from products ranging from toys used in childhood, to healthcare goods used as an adult. She noticed that girls/women ended having to pay an extra dollar, and sometimes even $5 more for the same product; only because it was branded “for girls/women” in each case.

Cite this page