Wage Gap

3 Pages 663 Words

The Wage Gap

“Since the Equal Pay Act was signed in 1963, the wage gap has been closing at a very slow rate” (Rothenburg 314). According to the US Census Bureau, the gender gap continues to increasingly become smaller (1). Although women continue to earn less than men, the median income for full- time working women increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2001. The median earnings for women in 2001 were $29,215 and $38,275 for men. The median earnings for women with a bachelors degree in 2000 was at a median of $38,200. The men in this category with a bachelor’s degree earned $53,500 for the year of 2000 (US Census Bureau 2).
I think that men make more money than women because when women joined the workforce, they were taking the positions as a second income, and settled for lower pay. Women also typically have more household responsibilities, making their paid workday shorter. Not to mention the fact that women bare children, and often need to take long leaves of absence.
Men hold higher positions, due to the fact that they have been in the workforce longer than women, therefore, historically, men have higher positions. I think, that men think, that women are not as competent as men. Sometimes I think women also feel as though men are more competent, and this really irks me. Therefore, when men, and some women, are hiring employees, they will choose a man over a woman. Another reason why I think women make less is because they tend to be more timid, and are happy to be offered a job in the first place, where a man is more likely to ask for, and in many cases, demand higher pay.
There is also a huge gap in earnings depending on race. In the year 2000, according to the US Census Bureau, Asian and Pacific Islanders make the most money per household median income (2). The median household income for Asians and Pacific Islanders is $55,521. This is about $10,000 more than White, non-Hispanics make. Those of Hispanic orig...