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The Gender Gap in America

Introduction

America is often regarded as the land of vast opportunities and the land of the free, where

equality thrives in equal measure. In contrast, and notably, the equation of gender gap exists in

America as it is in most other parts of the world. The issue of gender disparity dates back to the

start of civilization (Daugherty). Gender inequality thrives in the workplace and even in elective

posts. For instance, women working full-time in the U.S earned the equivalent of 60 dollar cents

to every dollar earned by men working under the same proportion in the 1960s. Currently,

statistics place the value at about 83 cents to every one dollar in 2020 (Census Bureau).

In his dossier ‘Women Still Earn Less than Men for Comparable Work in 2022 America’

(2022), Daugherty enlarges the scope of the definition of the term gender gap to include and

describe pay disparities between White Workers and women of color, i.e., Black and Hispanic

Americans. She also notes that though the gender gap has been narrowed, it still exists in 2022.

Historically, attempts to bridge the gender gap and ensure inequality has had both wins and

losses. For example, it was not until 1920 vide, the 19 th Amendment to the U.S Constitution, that

women were allowed to vote. In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was enacted by Congress. It prohibited
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employers from paying different wages to their male and female employees. Lastly, the Civil

Rights Act of 1964 also attempted to prohibit pay disparity based on race, sex, gender, or color.

The war to lessen the pay gender gap is far from over. Hence, this paper, through a

quantitative analysis, will seek to address why women, despite the advancement of equality, earn

less money compared to their male counterparts, more so in STEM related fields, reasons as to

why the gender gap exists today, equality for women but among themselves there is still

inequality, i.e., the gender gap pay based on racial discrimination; and lastly, the paper will

suggest possible solutions to the problem.

Why the Gender Gap?

The most often asked question is how gender inequality exists in the United States

despite its advanced industrial society where the legal, political, institutional, and economic

systems and processes work against it. Traditionally men are considered to do the more tedious

and risky jobs; they also work for more hours than women on average. Men are poised to take

more authoritative positions than their female counterparts. Significant gains have been made

since the late 1970s to reduce the gender gap, but recently the achievements have steadily leveled

up, suggesting slow or zero growth (Daugherty).

Some causes of gender disparity include the education gap between males and females.

Though the gap has significantly reduced, it is still notable that women still need an additional

college degree to earn or make as much money as their male counterparts in their course of

employment. It is a common phenomenon in the U.S for a man with only a high school

education to earn as much as a woman with a college degree, though women are considered to be

more educative than men.

Additionally, discrimination in the workplace is another factor. It particularly relates to

women of color or different races and discrimination due to the factor one being a female sex.

Frye opines, "It would require up to a year for a black woman working on full time basis to earn

as much as her White male colleague earned during the preceding year in the same job." What is

more interesting is that gender disparities in pay do exist between black or women of color

compared to their white counterparts. For instance, the statistics from the U.S Department of

labor, 2019, pinpoints how “Hispanic American women earned 55 cents for every dollar earned

by their White non-Hispanic American male counterparts, Black American women earned 63

cents, Asian American women 87 cents, and whereas, White non-Hispanic American women

earned 79 cents."

The Case of black women's pay disparity has been in existence since the birth of the U.S.

It stems from unexplained factors such as intentional biasness in the workplace and systematic

measures meant to frustrate the plight of Black women. Generally, the Black race is considered

inferior and has a lesser social status. This, coupled with factors such as sexism at work, makes

them underpaid. Despite the fact that Black women have had the uppermost labor potency

contribution amongst all women, Black women's jobs as caregivers are usually characterized by

low pay and the factor of job segregation despite advancing into higher careers which dictate

higher pay (Frye).

Generally, the gender gap exists due to biological, circumstantial, physical, and other

work-related factors, some beyond the control of humans. Technically, women choose to work

fewer hours compared to their male counterparts. They usually take on lower pay jobs such as

the clerical or service sector jobs, and the majority are women. In contrast, men take on blue-
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collar industrial jobs such as construction, mining, and manufacturing, some of which are

STEM-related, and they employ more men and equally pay very well (Ridgeway).

Women are also bound to opt out of the workforce for more extended periods than men,

primarily due to maternity leave, which will take a long to come back. Other factors include

work experience at 10%, union status at 4%, and occupation at 27%. Most women have less

work experience than men and do not join or participate in trade union activities (Ridgeway).

The Case of the STEM field.

Women in STEM-related field jobs usually make less money than males regardless of

factors such as time on the job, education, and experience. An outstanding feature of these jobs is

that STEM-related jobs are valued and perceived as high paying, low paying, or unpaid through

factors such as whether the profession is round-the-clock, part-time, or seasonal. Does the job

involve physical effort attributes, or is it more of specialized skills, research, and analysis?

According to UNICEF, “Females' underrepresentation in STEM occupations is characterized by

bias, sex stereotypes, and customs. Gender typecasts coupled with the lack of role models distort

girls' interest in STEM related subjects from an initial stage. Even if they pursue STEM degrees,

most do not pursue stem jobs” (Sterling).

The STEM field is traditionally referred to as a male-dominated field. Women chose

STEM majors, which pay less than what their male counterparts chose. Women are also bound to

make less money than males with the same major degree. For instance, in 2013 alone, women in

computing, mathematics, and engineering occupations earned between 82%-87% of what men

earned. Despite women being encouraged to take STEM-related courses, very few end up

working (Sterling).
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Some reasons include competing for domestic priorities requiring women to care for their

families, employer discrimination at the workplace, and cultural beliefs about women's fitness

compared to men's to take up particular jobs, more so in computer science and other engineering

fields. Similarly, women are likely to doubt or be less confident about their technical abilities

despite earning a degree and hence bound to pursue less-competitive and low-paying careers.

Additionally, when women are employed, less confident women are less likely to negotiate for

higher salaries to march their male counterparts at the workplace. Therefore, self-efficacy and

belief in oneself contribute to women taking up fewer opportunities in STEM-related courses

(Sterling).

Possible solutions

Technically, gender parity is not easy to achieve, but the struggle should be constant, and

both highs and lows should be expected in the quest to achieve or reduce the gender gap.

Therefore all stakeholders, that is, the government, the employer, employee, and other

stakeholders, are expected to join in the fight. Possible solutions include raising the minimum

wage as the share of disproportionate low-waged work is comprised mainly of women.

Enactment and support of fair labor practices at the national and state level, e.g., passing of the

Paycheck Fairness Act, which aims at increasing the penalty for those who violate the gender

parity pay and for greater enforcement of antidiscrimination laws at the workplace (Glynn et al.).

Other measures include supporting pay transparency by reducing pay secrecy and

allowing workers to know the pay scale of other employees. Also, women to be allowed to

negotiate for better pay as their male counterparts. Enactment of national-paid family and

medical insurance leave programs such as maternity and sick leave to bolster social security for

most women who give up their jobs to provide family care. Overcoming biasness at the
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workplace and ensuring workplace flexibility will also be crucial. Lastly, the provision of

networking opportunities to encourage women to take up careers initially disguised as the goose

of men, such as those in the STEM-related field (Glynn et al.).

Conclusion

Pay discrepancies in the workplace between men and women have been on a go-slow for

the last decade. The gap has stagnated. The championing of women's rights to ensure equal pay

and bridge the gender gap has been significantly subverted. There are no children of a lesser

God, we are all equal, and we deserve equal opportunities in the workplace irrespective of race,

gender, or other differences.

The gender gap can be minimized if all stakeholders are to eat and discuss from the same

plate. Issues such as biasness in the workplace and chauvinistic tendencies in the workplace that

disadvantage women in the workplace can be eradicated. Women contribute immensely to the

developmental cup of our country. Like in the words of Barack Obama, I believe that 'Yes We

Can' to break the gender gap and create an America of equal opportunities for all.
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Works Cited

Daugherty, Greg. Women Still Earn Less than Men for Comparable Work in 2022 America’

Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/history-gender-wage-gap-america-5074898

Accessed 27 Jun. 2022.

Frye, Jocelyn. "Racism and sexism combine to shortchange working Black women." Center for

American Progress (2019).

Glynn, Sarah J and Farell, Jane. What Causes the Gender Gap? Center for American Progress, 9

Apr (2013). https://www.americanprogress.org/article/what-causes-the-gender-wage-gap/

Accessed 27 Jun. 2022.

Glynn, Sarah Jane, Milia Fisher, and Emily Baxter. "7 Actions that Could Shrink the Gender

Wage Gap." Center for American Progress, 18 Sept (2014).

Ridgeway, Cecilia L. Framed by gender: How gender inequality persists in the modern world.

Oxford University Press, 2011.

Sterling, Adina D., et al. "The confidence gap predicts the gender pay gap among STEM

graduates." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117.48 (2020): 30303-30308.

U.S. Census Bureau. "Income and Poverty in the United States.”

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.pdf

Accessed 27 Jun. 2022.

U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau. “Women’s Earnings by Race and Ethnicity as a

Percentage of White, Non-Hispanic Men’s Earnings

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/data/earnings/race-percentage-white-hispanic Accessed 27

Jun. 2022.

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. “19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

Women’s Right to Vote (1920) https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-

amendment Accessed 27 Jun. 2022