Running Head: THE GENDER PAY GAP

The Gender Pay Gap in the United States: A Literature Review

Sandra Contreras
University of Texas at El Paso

Running Head: THE GENDER PAY GAP

Abstract
The gender pay gap is an extremely important issue that does not receive the attention
that it is due. By not truly acknowledging the real issue, discrimination against women in the
workplace continues. Throughout the years many have tried to excuse and justify the problem by
calming that factors such as education and work experience explain the pay difference between
genders. The closing of the pay gap has been a lengthy and slow process, efforts have been
made, such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Paycheck Fairness Act, they have proven
unsuccessful as women presently only earn $0.79 for every $1.00 earned by a man. There is an
abundance of controversy surrounding this topic, it is talked about but there seems to be no real
progress towards the settlement and conclusion of this issue. The government must take
initiative, as the civilian population cannot deal with this enormous problem on its own.

Running Head: THE GENDER PAY GAP

The Gender Pay Gap in the United States: A Literature Review

The following four question will endeavor to shed some light into what seems to be the
root problem and what is the
1.
2.
3.
4.

What is the gender pay gap?

Where does the United States stand concerning the gender pay gap?
What impedes equal pay between genders?
Should the government do more to end the gender pay gap once and for all?

What is the gender pay gap?

Figure 1: This graph shows the slow diminishment of the pay gap over the course of 56 years.

Gender Pay Gap in the US

Column2

0.61

0.59

0.6

1960.0

1970.0

1980.0

0.72

0.74

1990.0

2000.0

0.77

0.78

0.79

2010.0

2013.0

2016.0

Source: Molla, R. (2014, September 23). Womens Pay Compared to Mens From 1960 to 2013. Retrieved
from http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/womens-pay-compared-to-mens-from-1960-to-2013-1774/

Where does the United Stated stand concerning the gender pay gap?

Running Head: THE GENDER PAY GAP

As a modernized country with high standards of living, political and economical stability,
the United States is classified as a first world country. But even the most advance countries have
issues one of these being the pay gap. In the article entitled Acknowledging Discrimination as a
Key to the Gender Pay Gap by Hilary M. Lips, there is a lack of awareness of the gap. This is
due in part to what Lips refers to as system-justification beliefs; attempts towards the
validation of the gender pay gap by attributing it mainly to the choices individuals make, while
down-playing the role of discrimination. Currently there is no country in the world listed by the
World Economic Forum where females earn more than 0.82 earned by males for similar work.
There is an apparent dilemma but, to address the problem, there first has to be and
acceptance that there is an existing problem. There is an issue with the previous statement, that
being that nothing can be done to remedy the problem is those who are being affected or bare
witness to it, shield themselves from the wrongdoings by attempting to find vindications because
they do not want to stand out from those around this as this could affect the image perceive of
them by their peers; they want to stay with the status quo. A large body of evidence suggest that
people do not like to acknowledge that they are the either the perpetrators or victims of injustice,
and that they create justifications to explain disparate outcomes. (Lips 2013) Further unfairness
is face by women as a study of gender inequality conducted on Wall Street showed that women
are viewed as future mothers, this plus the rigorous hours worked per week have proven
incompatible with family life thus women are often depicted as not being dedicated to their
careers. Consequently, they are often unnoticed and are given fewer promotions if they do have
children as their attention is not solely focused in their work but divided with family
responsibilities. This shows that society punishes women for starting families as they do not meet

Running Head: THE GENDER PAY GAP

societies expectations and do not conform to the set stereotypes and thus they earn less money
and are given fewer opportunities. (Lips 2013)

What impedes equal pay between genders?

The United States is the leader in many sectors and industries worldwide. Being home to
some of the top global brands such as Apple, Google and Microsoft and having one of the
worlds most sizable and profitable economies, these amongst other things rank the United States
as a world power. The country prides itself with its many accomplishments, but despite the
nations numerous achievements, there is something that this world leader and power cannot
seem to attain and that is closing the gender pay gap and ensuring equal pay between genders.
Stereotypes play an enormous role in this, as particular jobs are viewed to be only for
women as they are having fewer earnings and are traditionally performed by women, men refuse
to perform these jobs even if they are similar to those more traditionally masculine ones. Social
psychology has long produced theory and research that point to a human tendency to resist
uncomfortable information and justify the status quo. (Lips 2013) Stephanie Cholensky states in
her article The Gender Pay Gap: NO MORE EXUCES! that part of the problem as viewed by
social feminist is the patriarchal conditions of society. Countries with greater gender equality
tend to have smaller pay gap as well as less wealth inequality overall. The gender pay gap
indicated that we are far from an egalitarian society and that there is a lot of work to be done.
(Cholensky 2015)

Running Head: THE GENDER PAY GAP

Should the government do more to end the gender pay gap once and for all?
The civilian population alone cannot end
Under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, an employer in the United States can justify paying a male
employee more than a comparable woman in a number of ways, the most general of which is that
the differential is based on any other factor other than sex [of the employee] (Lips 2013)
The Paycheck Fairness Act of 2013 if it has gained Senate approval would have required
employers to present sensible reasons other than, men will not accept the job due to the low
salary thus women are given the job.

Running Head: THE GENDER PAY GAP

References
Cholensky, S. (2015). The Gender Pay Gap: NO MORE EXCUSES!. Judgment & Decision
Making, 10(2), 15-16.
Gibelman, M. (2003). So How Far Have We Come? Pestilent and Persistent Gender Gap in Pay.
Social Work, 48(1), 22-32.
Leutwiler, J., & Kleiner, B. H. (2013). Statistical Analysis For Determining Pay Discrimination.
Insights To A Changing World Journal, 2013(4), 100-114.
Lips, H. (2013). Acknowledging Discrimination as a Key to the Gender Pay Gap. Sex Roles,
68(3/4), 223-230. doi:10.1007/s11199-012-0245-0
Mandel, H., & Semyonov, M. (2014). Gender Pay Gap and Employment Sector: Sources of
Earnings Disparities in the United States, 1970-2010. Demography, 51(5), 1597-1618.
doi:10.1007/s13524-014-0320-y
Molla, R. (2014, September 23). Womens Pay Compared to Mens From 1960 to 2013.
Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/womens-pay-compared-to-mens-from1960-to-2013-1774/
Travis, C. B., Gross, L. J., & Johnson, B. A. (2009). TRACKING THE GENDER PAY GAP: A
CASE STUDY. Psychology Of Women Quarterly, 33(4), 410-418. doi:10.1111/j.14716402.2009.01518.x

**Primary research is ongoing I will be interviewing a lawyer to get some insight into what she
has experienced throughout her career and what are her views on the pay gap.