According to the Joint Economic Committee "a woman working full time [in the United States], year round earns $10,800 less per year than a man..." (United States Joint Economic Committee, 2016). In the United Kingdom, "the gap among full time employees [was found to be] 7.4 percent among full time employees [as of 2020]" (Smith,2020). The gender pay gap can be found around the world from Canada to Korea (Delfino,2018). "Economists [in the United States] believe that the gender pay gap is caused by complex factors. However, even when all those factors are taken into account, as much as 40 percent of the pay gap may be attributed to discrimination" (United States Joint Economic Committee,2016).
These statistics showcase the fact that women are being paid less than men for the same work. Global activists striving to live in societies that emphasize integrity and equality should take note of this issue. In order for both sexes to be equal, individuals should be paid the same for their professional positions. As more people are made aware of the gender pay gap, communities should practice integrity by working to fix the problem. Additionally, activists invested in this cause could make real economic differences in others lives. "Enacting policies that would narrow the gender pay gap and help more women work full time in the paid labor force would decrease income inequality and lift many women out of poverty" (United States Joint Economic Committee,2016).
In trying economic times, people need financial safety and stability. This can include "safety of employment" (khanacademy, 2014). Providing equal pay to women could improve the lives of families all over the world. A steady income for many families could give them the chance to improve their economic standing and access essential services such as improved healthcare. Furthermore, the gender pay gap complicates women's need for economic safety at all stages of their working life. In fact, "the pay gap typically grows with age. While women ages 18 to 24 earn 88 percent of what their male counterparts earn, women over age 35 earn only 76 percent" (United States Joint Economic Committee, 2016).
There are several steps that anyone interested in activism can take in order to close the wage gap. The first step is to spread the word about this problem. "Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are a great way to make your voice heard...discussing these issues and educating people on them is part of the path to achieving gender equality" (Vagianos,2015). As citizens, we can help encourage change in our societies by making our voices heard. We can send letters or e-mails to legislators and policy makers requesting the creation of law that would close the wage gap. In the United States, "several states have passed the Equal Rights Amendment to ensure that women are treated equally and fairly in all areas of society, including the workforce...but the ERA has not received the ratification required to become law" (Vagianos,2015). Activists living in the United States could write to their local representatives requesting that further attention be brought to the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment into law. Meanwhile, activists in other democratic nations could write to their representatives about passing similar laws. Finally, global activists can pen a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations requesting for this issue to be brought to the world stage. (takeapen,n.d.) These are ways that anyone can directly impact the effort to close the wage gap across the world.
References:
Delfino, D. (2018, August 17). 12 countries where men earn significantly more than women. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/countries-with-the-gender-pay-gap-2018-8.
The Gender Pay Gap Explained . (2017). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPBt9-T9rQU.
Khan Academy. Maslow's hierarchy of needs (video). Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/behavior/theories-personality/v/maslow-hierarchy-of-needs.
Smith, R. (2020, November 3). Gender pay gap in the UK: 2020. Gender pay gap in the UK - Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2020#:~:text=The%20gender%20pay%20gap%20in%20the%20UK%20has%20been%20declining,%2C%20from%209.0%25%20in%202019.
takeapen.org.
United States Joint Economic Committee. (2016). https://www.jec.senate.gov/.
Vagianos, A. (2015, April 30). 10 Things That Need To Be Done To Close The Wage Gap. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/things-we-need-to-do-to-close-wage-gap_n_7056322.
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