Last week, the White House released a report showing the despite having better education than they did decades ago, women still lag behind men on several economic indicators. The number of men and women in the labor force is almost equal, however at all levels of education, women still earn about 75% of what their male counterparts earn for the same work. As an educated women myself, who works two jobs, this makes me angry – and it motivates me to work that much harder.
Artists and designers aren’t immune from it either. According to a report by the National Endowment for the Arts, “women are making enormous progress, but still lag behind their male colleagues economically, especially in fields such as photography, design and architecture. The pay gap tends to be larger for non-performing art occupations, when women earn just 72% of what men earn. To put that into perspective, in 2005 the average income of women artists was $27,000 which was $14,700 less than the average income of men artists!
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are 60% more likely then men to earn a bachelor’s degree by the time they are twenty-three. We are more educated and working more than ever before, yet the disparity between pay is still there. So my question to you this week is “Why do you think this gap exists, and what do you think we could do to change it?” Really think about it! Answers are due no later than Tuesday, March 15th, 2011.
A lot of people judge, it is only human nature. If you want, say something built, you would most likely be hesitant towards going to a ladie than a man. Everyone wants to get the best out of their money and if that means going to a man,than thats just what people will do.
ReplyDeleteMen also have been working in the labor force for many more years. They have a reputation and experience. I would much rather go to a business that has been established for 50 years or so than one that is a year old and hasn't the same experience. And 50 years ago it wasn't as common for ladies to own their own business, it was mostly men.
I believe that if people were more open minded than ladies might have higher income levels and the plain might become more fair.
I think it boils down to the people and parties involved in this area and in these positions to make the change still has the "its a mans world" mentality and or do not want to be not only shown up by women via their work performance on top of making more than them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Thomas. There is still the mentality every where "are you really going to let a girl beat you?" Being a female I think it's terrible. It would be like somebody who is older than you getting paid more just because they are older than you. Just because of age does not mean you are more or less qualified than somebody, just as it is with sex.
ReplyDeleteI believe this gap still exist because America is still stuck on the idea that 'Men bring home the bacon and the woman place is in the home.' There's jobs out there like construction working that are built for men to do. I do not think this will ever change because it seems imprinted in many people's heads. This is how the world is built men on top and the woman is the supporting role. Therefore she doesn't need to make as much as a man. I don't want to sound like a downer but this is how I feel.
ReplyDeleteTionda Burch
The gap exists because, in going back through history, men have been given superior positions/pay than women, so changing a centuries old tradition will take an enormous amount of time and women will have to consistantly prove they are well educated, even above men, for change to take place. I don't think there is a way we can change it because it is the mind set of people and men, in their superior positions are still the ones who would have to make the laws that would allow women to have equal pay for the same job.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm just rehashing what other's have already said, but I do think its because of the gender roles society has been brought up. I think its slowly changing, and I think with my generation it feels like the mind set on a lot of things are highly contrasting traditional views. So when our generation inters office, we'll see some changes.
ReplyDeleteJust like what others have said. It's been like that for a long time because women used to not be able to learn as much or work as much as men did, and people have just never grown out of it. Why it still exists is beyond me. It probably just goes back to the thought that women are inferior to men in every possible aspect, even though that's clearly not true. When it comes to some things, yes men are stronger. But it definitely does not apply to all aspects of life, and definitely not to all aspects of the job field either. I think that to change it, we can start by demanding more from our employers. I'm not saying that women don't do enough to try and fight for equal rights, but I think if more of us did, that would definitely be a good start. Also, the majority of people in this school want to have their own business one day, so for those who do end up starting their own business, just take greater thought into how you treat your employees. If the girls work harder than the guys then let their paychecks show it.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I feel as if we work in male dominated world, even if we don't always see it or believe it. It has been this way for a while. Society has played a large role in the way we live today. According to social history, Men are known as the ones who have the big jobs and bring home the money to the family and women are home makers and mothers or have lower simple jobs in the workforce. I believe that we are making big changes and seeing a lot women who are making names in history for themselves. I look up to these women and I feel so lucky to be able to watch them succeed. I am proud to be a lady that will strive to be an equal or more in my industry.
ReplyDeleteThis gap exists for a few reasons. I feel a big reason is the job of women today vs. the job of women years ago. Years ago the typical job for almost every woman was taking care of the house and the children. Men were the ones who went to work and supported the household. Another reason I feel this gap exists is because men believe that they are more capable than women to get the job done. I would agree in some instances that include hard labor but I think that perception is wrong when addressing management positions in large companies. Women are just as capable of men in completing and leading a company to success, but still we get paid less because some feel a man is more apt to get the job done correctly and quickly. Women play a large role in society and are trying to move up in the work world. I also look up to these women and hope to be one in the future.
ReplyDeleteWell, I still feel that because women still have to take time off to give birth and take care of their children, that some of this gap makes perfect sense. I'm sure that, to an employer, it's extremely difficult to give the same amount of money to an employee that can no longer do the amount of labour against one who is not pregnant. Not only that, but time has to be taken off as well. Men don't have to take this kind of leave, as they don't get pregnant, give birth, or need the kind of recuperation that women do. Of course, this is not the only reason, but I think it is definitely a factor.
ReplyDeleteI think another reason is that even though women strive for equality, there is still a difference that distinguishes males from females, and a specific roles we are "supposed" to play within society.
While I do think it is ridiculous that women make less than men, I believe it is changing. It is slow to change because of how the business community still is. The heads of companies are still an older generation that are more conservative and may have that "men bring home the bacon" mentality. I think as the younger generation grow into those positions we will see a change, I am sure we will see a lot of women rise in power.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad this was brought up because it is an important issue to myself, and also is my final project topic. I personally believe this gap still exist because it wasn't too long ago that women couldn't even vote. For example when segregation became illegal it took several years to finally comply to the rules and to accept things as it should be. Same concept goes for women, we were always separated from men in multiply categories, so when it was time for the gap to stop we still are having problems dealing with the details. Honestly I believe that our generation is stepping up more, especially females. I have a feeling that in the future females will have a higher value then men and it will be the reverse conversation going on.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I feel it is just hard for people to accept change. This is very depressing because I work hard at everything I do and don't like these statistics. I'm not sure there is anything we can do to change it though because I feel part of the reason for this is even though we are educated people think women aren't as reliable because we can have children. Which in turn causes days off for doctor visits, leave after a baby is born, etc. All of which is paid off time so although I don't agree with paying women less for this reason I see in a sense where it is coming from. Obviously we can't just never have children in order to fix this problem so I don't know of any solution for this.
ReplyDeleteI am agreeing with others when I say that people fear change and they are still used to the norm. Women’s rights are a relatively new concept when you think about everything in the past and how far we have come. I am hoping soon that we will stop living in a "man’s world" and everyone will be acknowledge for the work that they do and not the sex of the person doing the job. I hope that things will even out and people will receive the correct pay for the work done. I do not think that this is just with men and women I still think that race is an issue as well.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I want to believe that this doesn't happen, the statistics do not lie. I think that when this first became a problem, it was because of women having children and taking time off. Now, I do not believe that is as much of a problem. In fact, just six months ago, my fiance's boss took of six straight weeks for maternity leave. My boss also took off about 3 weeks when his child was born last month. I do not believe that this is what would be causing those statistics now. I think it is probably mostly due to habit. If you give the women a raise just to make it equal, men will expect a raise for nothing as well. It's a never ending cycle.
ReplyDeleteThis is bad but I think it is just a mind set from back when this behavior was fine. I was listening to npr a few days ago and they had a speech specialist on and a question about women being equal in the work place came up and he said he conditions women to speak with more power behind their voices ...because most women talk like everything they say is a question the tone raises right at the end...the way to overcome this is to speak slightly more nasaly sounds weird but that was his advice. It is not just guys fault though because women still take that stay at home position and soccer mom lifestyle...how many stay at home dads are there that you know? I think this is comparable because yes it is a lot more common today, but for the most part isn't a huge trend. It's the great American ideal life for some people and I think they are just stuck.
ReplyDeleteIm my opinion the reason this gap exists is because people are us to how things us to be, like the man works and the women stays home and take care of the kids. I think people still have that same mind set and are don't the guys don't seem to see anything wrong with it. Another reason why i think the gap exists is because guys don't want there wife's to make more than them because it makes them feel less of a man, because now the wife wont need them to make money.
ReplyDeleteI think I reason for the gap is because women used to stay at home and take care of the children but times have changed and a lot of women work now
ReplyDeleteI feel like the gap exists, because men and women are different physically. I feel like if it is a job that doesn't require physical parts then there should not be a pay gap. The reason I think it started was, because of the sexist part of the business world. I don't think it will last much longer.
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