The Gendered Wage Gap

Paper Summary:

This paper outlines some theories and the historical reasoning behind gendered wage discrimination and discusses proposed ways in which this disparity can be resolved in the modern world. The paper postulates that one of the major reasons behind wage discrimination is the perception of women as family orientated as opposed to career orientated. This perception, according to the paper's writer, make employers wary of hiring a potentially less productive employee.

Outline:
Introduction
Historical Underpinnings of Gendered Wage Gap
Possible Resolutions to Income Disparity
Works Cited

From the Paper:

"Individuals who are also employers eek to hire perceptually those employees who will create the least perceived difficulties in longevity and outside interest as a result of high level demands for productivity and profit and as a result of the fact that once an investment is made in an employee the employer's best interest is served by them sticking around. Additionally real employers discriminate against women (particularly those who are parents) as a matter of making wise business decisions, as if they hire a woman and she either enters parenthood or is pulled away from work (with excessive tardiness or reduced productivity due to family interruptions and responsibilities) she will not be an asset to the company but according to the law cannot be let go without the risk of penalty. (Correll, Benard and In Paik, 2007, pp. 1297-1300) The pay differential then could be an aspect of the fact that women tend to gravitate toward professions (when job seeking and career planning) that are perceived to be less discriminatory toward women (and more of a sure thing for employment) and such positions subsequently pay less, because they have been feminized. Bobbitt-Zeher points out that this trend can be traced back to educational goals and achievement and that even though women have had increasing success in education (the ideal universal remover of obstacles) they still continue to gravitate away from perceived highly masculine professions and therefore less often challenge such differentials despite increased educational attainment. (2007, pp. 1-22) That the variation in pay and achievement can be influenced negatively by increased legal and social support measures is frustrating as enforcement of family friendly laws can and does broaden rather than narrow the gap in some areas, as women are continually discriminated against in hiring and wage differentials where their perceived commitment is broader than work."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bobbitt-Zeher, D. The Gender Income Gap and the Role of Education Sociology of Education. 80.1 (Jan 2007) 1-22.
• Correll, S. J. Bernard, S. Paik, I. Getting a Job: Is There a Motherhood Penalty? American Journal of Sociology 112. 5 (March 2007) 1297-338.
• Dulebohn, J. H. Werling, S.E. Compensation research past, present, and future. Human Resource Management Review 17.2 (June 2007) 191-207.
• England, P. Allison, P. Wu, X. Does bad pay cause occupations to feminize, Does feminization reduce pay, and How can we tell with longitudinal data? Social Science Research 36.3 (Sept. 2007) 1237-1256.
• Green, Carole A., and Marianne A. Ferber. "Do Detailed Work Histories Help to Explain Gender and Race/ethnic Wage Differentials?." Review of Social Economy 63.1 (2005): 55.

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