Beal 1

Landyn Beal

Mrs. Armstrong

AP English Language

27 March 2017

A Disparity to Soon be Fixed

“We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn't a reality yet” -

Beyonce.

America, the land of the free and the home of the brave; a land of equality and

justice for all; a land where all races live in peace, wealth classes interact and gender

provides no disparity in the workplace. This is the America we would like to believe we

live in, but unfortunately this is far from the reality. Black persecution still runs rampant

in cities like St. Louis and Philadelphia where the division of classes and race is actually

a physical line, Middle Eastern looking Americans are seen as terrorists and women are

still only receiving seventy nine cents to the dollar compared to that of men of equal

qualifications. Equality? Justice for all? Not here! Not in this America, at this point in

time! Women deserve equal pay to their male counterpart, but are robbed twenty one

cents of every dollar when payday rolls around. Unequal pay for women not only hurts

the economy, but is also unjust, unlawful and takes the American workplace one step

further from the esteemed morality we claim to have.

A common misconception exists that women are paid an equal amount to their

male counterparts per hour worked, but Rosamond Hutts studies have proven
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otherwise. Generally, women work thirty minute longer days than the men in equal

working occupations. As well as longer days, women can see up to four and a half

unpaid work hours a day whereas men only see around two and half independent

hours. Those opposing the ideas of unjust equality often say that women work less

hours due to familial obligations and maternity leave, but clearly those arguments are

based on fabrications.

High School, College and University for some provide the skills and knowledge

necessary for jobs that students will eventually step into. Such education is the same

for men and women alike. No bias exists in the lecture halls and laboratories where

women are trained for their areas of work in the exact same way as men. The result?

Extremely similar production, innovation and results between men and women. It has

become very clear that even identically educated women are still discriminated against.

(Schieder) Being the best saleswomen in the branch is not enough, being the most

thorough statistician is not enough, being highly skilled in creative outreach is not

enough. To be enough - simply be a man.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a law made to amend the labor standard act. The

end goal, eradicating gender discrepancies. All too often sexism is hidden behind the

facade of a healthy growing company. In reality, the distribution of paychecks that differ

by gender is illegal. This fact is often not brought to the light because of pay secrecy.

Over fifty percent of women in 2014 said they felt discouraged or were denied the

opportunity to discuss pay in the workplace. (Crawford) The easiest way to make sure

change does not happen is to make it seem as if there is no problem at all.

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Companies will give the illusion of equal collaboration because men and women

are both essential to build a thriving business. While there is much to be said of the

similarities of men and women, there are differences that make women vital to success

in the modern age. The brain structure of a women is very different than that their male

counterparts. The female brain makes more connections left to right, while a male brain

tends to connect front to back more often. (Cool) The left half of the brain handles

logical thinking, and the right is associated with intuition. This means that women are

much quicker to pull together a large amount of data and make a concise conclusion

based on facts. Men have a heightened amount of perception and have a higher level of

motor skills. (Cool) Both brain structures are paramount in the workplace especially in

this day and age of speed and technology where time really is a valuable resource.

One of the most powerful statistics that simply cannot be ignored is the

representation of women in positions of power. A measly fifteen perfect of corporate

boards are made up of women and only fourteen percent of executive committees are

female. (Barsh) These are the people who really make a change in the company, so it

is no wonder a real change is not being made about the everyday sexism. Roughly half

of the nation is made up of women, but they only receive fifteen perfect of the

representation when it comes to positions of power. What does this say about how

women are valued in America? Simply put, women are considered and treated as lesser

than men - there embodies the basic fundamentals of discrimination based on sex.

Companies who do not empower women miss out on an easy opportunity for

knowledgeable understanding of their client base. Who knows best what a women

wants? The obvious answer is - another a women. For almost all businesses, certain
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advertisements are directed specifically at women. These advertising campaigns are

significantly more effective when designed and implemented by another women. The

loss companies accept when they do not empower women goes beyond advertising

advantages as well. When a major company makes a decision that could be considered

controversial, think of all the women that are somehow affiliated with that decision -

women that could be working for the company, supporting the company financially or

hold stock for the company. A decision void of major representation of women could

prove catastrophic for the future of American companies.

Much can be said about women and equality that is simply deserved

constitutionally, religiously and morally. While those pose enough of an argument, in

and of themselves, economic reasons to fight for equality are often overlooked. In 2011,

mothers were the primary providers and, in many cases, the sole provider of the family.

(Crawford) With women making almost $30,000 less per year than their male

counterparts, being the primary provider and caretaker for a family becomes

increasingly difficult - not only for the mom, but for the kids living in the house. With a

low income single mother, students often need to work to help supplement the family

income, providing less time for studies, extra-circulars, and other vital experiences for a

teenager’s growth and maturity. The necessity to help provide can easily set these

students on a path of lower educational goals, fewer opportunities and a resulting lower

income - and the cycle continues.

Another basic foundation of economics is consumer culture. A producer makes a

product and a consumer buys the product. This basic building block of economy

makes America's free market trade work the way it does. In the United States, 4 trillion
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dollars are spent annually by women, this makes up eighty three percent of the

consumers culture. (Wolfe) Imagine the boost our economy would see if women were

paid equally to men. While it is true that the United States as a whole would not have

more money, the economy of trade would be at an all time high. Equal pay for women

can only have positive side effects for our economy.

"Imagine you're a little girl. You're growing up. You practice as hard as you can,

with girls, with boys. You have a dream. You fight, you work, you sacrifice to get to this

stage. You work as hard as anyone you know. And then you get to this stage, and

you're told you're not the same as a boy. Almost as good, but not quite the same. Think

how devastating and demoralizing that could be." - Venus Williams

Similar to Venus’s personal anecdote, the gender gap has quickly become

evident not only in the adult workplace but throughout all ages ranges. Recent studies

have shown that young boys make 6.6 percent more pocket change than young girls for

doing household chores. (Bloch) This sends a very powerful message to the young

impressionable minds of pre-adolescence. The simple message conveyed - boys’ work

is worth more than girls’ work. If this lesson is taught to elementary children, then it is

no surprise that women are not fighting for and expecting equality when they grow up.

Women are discouraged from wage discussions and it all starts in the house they grow

up in.

The most common counter argument to the gender gap inequality is that there

simply is no gender gap. No wage gap exists and feminists are demanding equal pay

for unequal work. “Women choose less lucrative courses of study… Women are more

likely to take time off from a career for the sake of starting a family. Men also tend to
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put in more hours at the office than women do.” (Cochran) While these facts are true,

the stats given by countless studies take into account these facts as well. Women are

paid seventy cents to a dollar on average for doing the same job. Female lawyers can

see only up to fifty-six cents, women of color only get sixty-three cents on average to a

man's dollar. The common statistic of seventy-nine cents is an average of all jobs

performed by women. Women are more likely to take off work to start a family, meaning

they work less hours per week. Forty hours per week is not the same as sixty so that is

a fair point. But, just like men, women are not paid for hours they do not work, a women

working forty hours a week is paid for forty hours of work. Men may put in more hours

at an office than women. Although Cochran includes no source as to where the statistic

came from, working less hours still receives less pay than working more hours, so that

argument is merely a meaningless fact. Also, as previously stated, women work almost

twice as many unpaid hours outside of the workplace. The amount of hours receiving

pay does not affect the seventy nine cents per dollar a women receives compared to a

man of equal qualifications.

All too often people say that there is no need to fight for gender equality because

change is already happening. They argue that every year women earn relatively more

and more. While this is true, at the current rate of “more and more”, it will be 44 years

of this trend before complete equality is accomplished and sexism is completely

dissolved.

America, the land of the free and the home of the hypocritical. For a country

touted as an example of equality and justice, our ideals are far from where they should

be. For a county claiming to be the leading power in outreach and support for other
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nations, our division of gender is a major plank in the eye of the American people. We

Americans are no better off than the people we are trying to help. And we are far worse

off than even the developing countries that have found and practice equality - for they

have found something far greater than political power, they have learned and practice

respect for everyone. Respect for those who are different simply because they are

humans - being human is enough to warrant respect and equality. In America, a basic

human right is suppose to be life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. True peace,

equality and this basic human right fail to exist until we are all equal. We should not stop

working toward equality until men and women, of every size shape and color, are

viewed as having the same potential for success. If we continue to put womans’ rights -

human rights- on the back burner, we will eventually reach our full negative potential as

we step foot after foot closer to the point of total depravity. Gender equality? Not in

America - not yet!

“Women deserve equal pay for equal work… It is time to do away with workplace

policies what belong in a ‘mad men’ episode… Because I believe that when women

succeed America succeeds.” - Barack Obama

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Works Cited

Barsh, Joanna. "The Global Gender Agenda." McKinsey & Company. Mckinsey.com,

Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

Bloch, Susan. "The Gender Pay Gap: It Affects Us All." The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

Cochran, Matthew Economics. "There Is No Wage Gap: Feminists Want Equal Pay for

Unequal Work." The Federalist. 08 May 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

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Cool, Lisa Collier. "Are Male and Female Brains Different?" Brain and Nervous System.

WebMd. 6 July 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Crawford, Hillary E. "7 Equal Pay Statistics That Every Woman Should Have At The Tip

Of Her Tongue Today." Bustle. Bustle, 12 Apr. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

Hutt, Rosamond. "Do Women Work Longer Hours than Men." World Economic Forum.

Weforum.org, 2 Nov. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Schieder, Jessica. "“Women’s Work” and the Gender Pay Gap: How Discrimination,

Societal Norms, and Other Forces Affect Women’s Occupational Choices—and

Their Pay."Economic Policy Institute. 20 July 2016. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Wolfe, Lahle. "Why We Need to Seriously Address Equal Pay For Women." The

Balance. The Balance. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.