Formal Paper #2- Rough Draft- Gender Wage Decrimination

Will add letter format

Gender Wage Discrimination in the United States of America

     Citizens of United States of America pride themselves on being part of this land of opportunity and a country built on equality.  So why are the women in this country still battling the gender pay gap?  The Paycheck Fairness Act was blocked this year by Senate Republicans.  This act would have allowed employees/ colleagues to discuss their salaries without penalties.  In addition would have employed good morale resulting in happier more productive employees. 

    

     In the last several years we have had numerous women including class action lawsuits take their gender gap labor issues all the way to the Supreme Court. 

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      There are several theories and mixed opinions about this issue.  Researchers believe the problem exists, while other people deny it’s an issue to be changed.  Moreover, numbers don’t lie and from the scientific study most recently completed in 2012 by the American Association of University Women, from data extracted directly from the 2009 U.S. Department of Educational statistics.  As of 2009 women earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns, during the first year out of college.  With further studies and comparing “apples to apples”; when women are in identical occupations they earn 7% less than their male counterparts.  And furthermore, African American women earn only 72 cents for every dollar men earn and Latinas 60 cents for every dollar that men earn.

     In 1963 when the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act was passed into law, it was to protect the rights of workers and mandate equal pay for equal work no matter the person’s sex, color, race, religion, national origin, or disability. According to the U.S. Employment Equal opportunity Commission; The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. Job content (not job titles) determines whether jobs are substantially equal. All forms of pay are covered by this law, including salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit sharing and bonus plans, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, cleaning or gasoline allowances, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for travel expenses, and benefits. If there is an inequality in wages between men and women, employers may not reduce the wages of either sex to equalize their pay.

     During the past 50 years, the ratios for women’s employment education and equal rights have hugely improved, but still far short from equal.  The gender pay gap has been thrown around by the media since women started working.  The opinion that the pay gap is largely exaggerated is simply not true.  As unfortunate as the reality is, stereotyping of men being worth more, working more efficiently, having greater competence, deserving more pay because of their head of household status or wealth status, has been happening since women began working.  These perceptions perpetuate themselves and result in men and women both valuing men’s labor at a higher pay.  Though neither men nor women would admit to these opinions of value because risk of being outside the social norm or being labeled sexist.  As a matter of fact it has been studied extensively by psychologists at universities such as Stanford, Princeton, University of California Santa Barbara, Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville and Southern Illinois University of Carbondale to name a few.

      Still there are numerous factors that create the consistent problem, such as pay expectations, which tend to be lower for women.  According to a Kent State University, women view their own worth as less than men view their worth, when they negotiate pay during the hiring process.    

     Women have been devalued for thousands of years as suggested from the Old Testament passage.

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate persons to the Lord by giving equivalent values, set the value of male between the ages of 20 and 60 at 50 shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel; and if it is a female, set her value at 30 shekels.                                                                          -Leviticus 27:1-4

     As I look forward to completing my college education, it is clear to me that I will need to do my due diligence in researching my career’s salary data and be confident in my skills and in my pursuit to negotiate a fair salary.

The consequences of gender wage gap can be detrimental to the women and men in our society.  Many households depend on one women’s salary, whether it’s a single women, mother, wife or caregiver.  Especially with the recession, there are more men out of work then women. 

    

     Why should women have to work longer and harder to make the same wages, to earn the same Social Security, to contribute the same amount to retirement, to pay back the same amount of education debt and to support their families?

Annotated Bibliography #2

Kelly Finneran

Section: English 1A

Instructor: Knapp, S

Topic:  Gender Wage Gap

                                                     Annotated Bibliography

Goldin, Claudia Dale.  Understanding the Gender Gap.  Oxford: Oxford City University Press,                   1992. Print.

                 Women have entered the labor market in unprecedented numbers, yet these critically               needed workers still earn less than men and have fewer opportunities for advancement.                   This book studies the evolution of the female labor force in America, looking at the issue          of gender distinction in the workplace and challenging the idea that women's employment    advances were a response to social revolution rather than long-run economic progress.          Employing history methods and new data on employment, earnings, work experience, discrimination, and hours of work, it establishes that the present economic status of women has evolved gradually over the last two centuries and that  the past        conceptions of women workers persist.

Madden, Janice. “Penn News.” Penn University of Pennsylvania. U of Pennsylvania, 2012. Web.             12 Nov. 2012.

Sanders, Joseph and Hamilton, Lee V.. Handbook of Justice Research In Law.  New York:           Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002.  EBSCOHost eBook collection. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.          This handbook provides a comprehensive cross-disciplinary perspective on the role of justice     research in studies of the legal system. Authorities from sociology, political science, criminology, psychology, and law analyze justice research, including the various dimensions of justice, the interaction among these dimensions, and the relationship between law and culture. 

Spetz, Joanne, Ash, Michael, Konstantinidis, Charalampos and Herrera, Carolina.  “The Effect of             Unions on the Distribution of Wages of Hospital-Employed Registered Nurses in the United States.”  Journal of Clinical Nursing  20 (2011): 60-67. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.

Nadler, Joel T. and Stockdale, Margaret S.. “Workplace Gender Bias: Not Just Between   Stangers.” North American Journal of Psychology. 14.2 (2012): 281-91.  Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.   

            This journal supplies great research and statistics about women in the North American       workforce, from pro-male bias in workplace evaluations, gender based harassment,   gender differences in career choices, and workplace gender wage differences.  Women in  North America face major challenges in career advancement and are expected to feel the anxiety of having to make the choice between work and family.

Propposal #2 - Gender Wage Descrimination

Proposal #2

Title: Gender Wage Descrimination

Author: Kelly Finneran

Date: 11 November 2012

Topic: Why wage discrimination continues.

Exigence: Women’s equal rights are challenged by wage discrimination.

Intended Audience: We the people. 

Purpose: To inform the public of the injustice.

Claim 1: Equal pay for equal work violations have been swept under the rug by the Supreme Court.  I will show examples of these specific cases in recent history.

Claim 2: Why the Equal Pay Act doesn’t work.  Wage discrimination is a difficult case to prove.  Wages are considered confidential information.  Unions try to protect employee rights.

Claim 3: Time out of the workforce can directly impact women's earning potential.   Women who take time off work for childbirth are expected to accept lower wages upon return. There are additional factors that impact women's decisions including workplace discrimination, either experienced or anticipated, a lack of women-friendly policies and resources in the workplace.  Also stereotypes steer women and men toward different education, training and career paths.  Consequently, societal expectations for wives compared to husbands and mothers compared to fathers, both subtle and blatant, all effect the choices made by women.

RA #3- "Bros Before Hos": "The Guy Code"

RA #3

Title: “Bros Before Hos”: The Guy Code

Author:  Michael Kimmel

Date: 7 November 2012

Topic:  The teaching of masculinity in America.  How boys are molded from a young age to be men,  by forms of harassment, teasing, and peer pressure from parents, relatives, friends, teachers and society.

Analysis of Argument: 

Exigence:  Kimmel explains the pressures young boys experience and the expectations as they grow to manhood.  How men are pressured by their own peers to prove their masculinity.  There is a relentless sense of having to show ones “manly” behavior.  Expected at all times by your own friends and peers to adhere to” The Guy Code”, while your fellow men are ready to call you on your short comings at the first sign of weakness.

Intended Audience:  Men, women, parents, educators, sociologists, psychologists and scholarly audiences would take interest in this subject matter.

Purpose:  The purpose of Kimmel writing is to bring to light the confusing expectations we place on boys and men in our modern society to be viewed as acceptable men.

Claim: “Boys are more prone to depression, suicidal behavior and various other forms of out of control behaviors than girls are.  No wonder boys drop out of school and are diagnosed as emotionally disturbed four times more often as girls, get into fights twice as often, and are six times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD (616-17).”

Evidence:  From young influential ages boys are told not to cry, no sissy stuff, play like a boy, no complaining, take it like a man, etc.  As they reach adulthood the messages from peers evolve to, “It’s better to be mad than sad, Don’t get mad-get even, Take it like a man, He who has the most toys when he dies, wins, Just do it, Size matters, Don’t stop to ask for directions, Nice guys finish last, and It’s all good.”  These are typical expectations put on men in our society.  Then there are the unspoken signs of femininity such as showing emotion, wearing feminine colors, being well dressed, participating in feminine activities and hobbies like art, music, design, shopping, fashion and certain grooming habits.

Writing Strategy #1: Cause and Effect

Writing Strategy #2: Description

Writing Strategy #3: Exemplification

Reader Effect #1:  The author looks at the typical lives and situations of boys from men describing  their upbringing in terms of peer pressure in regards to the “The Guy Code” rules.  Then summarizes the paper with the scientific and social effects these expectations have placed on boys and men as a result.

Reader Effect #2:  Kimmel describes the specific Guy Code and Boy Code rules that are directly and indirectly expected to be adhered to by boys and men.

Reader Effect #3:  The author quotes previous writings on the same subject matter by other well known authors.  He also conducts some his own research in his classrooms, asking his students their feelings, experiences and opinions on the subject.

My Response:   I really enjoyed this writing.  It seems to be a subject that doesn’t get much attention.  Almost like it’s swept under the rug in our society.  The idea of gender as we think of it is solely a social construct, born into existence by the pressure of tradition and the supremacy of the majority. This is true for our perceptions of "masculinity" and "femininity", and this point is driven home in "Bros Before Hos: The Guy Code." Michael Kimmel points out the stereotypes men are taught to believe make them more manly.  According to his interviews with various men from all over the country, the male social facade was put upon them by fathers, grandfathers, coaches, older brothers and other significant male role models as young boys.  This paper has given me an understanding of why men relate to certain situations the way they do.