Gender Wage Gap

5 Pages 1257 Words

As the graduation approaches, most students prepare for the life in so called “real world”. They are searching for the job, with hope to find what they desire; well-paid job for which they are best qualified. It is assumed that degree of qualification affects the degree of pay, however there are other aspects that have as much effect on the amount earned. One of these aspects is gender. So, even in the year 2001, chances are that I as a female graduate will make less money than the next male graduate whose grade point average was considerably lower than mine. To this day wage gap in gender is present in Canada, but fortunately it is decreasing with time.
Woman’s work has always been under appreciated and woman’s capability was hardly ever recognized. It wasn’t until the beginning of 1900s that women joined paid work forces. Ever since than, women have been fighting for equal wages. The average wage rate for female workers has been below that for male workers for as long as statistics have been recorded. “In 1930,on average women earned about 53% of what men earned in Canada” (Altman and Lamontagne 3). However, in recent years, female wages have been approximately equal to 3/4 of the level of male wages.
No one seriously disputes the existence of a gender wage differential. The disagreement primarily focuses on the cause of the wage differential. Is it the result of gender discrimination? Or is it the result of differences in other characteristics that are correlated with gender? “ A study by Jacob Mincer and Solomon Polachek indicates that much of the gender wage difference is the result of differences in educational attainment and work experience. Erica Groshen and others have found that most of the remaining gender wage differential can be explained by differences in occupational choice” (Mackie 259).
“Thus, the empirical evidence indicates that most (or all) of the male-female wage differential is due to g...