Pay Gap: Fact or Fiction
by Danielle Moses
“The pay gap is something that actively works against women, and the more people know that it is a fact, not fiction, the easier it will be to combat.”
Time and time again, as a society, we keep on falling into the debate whether or not the “pay gap” between males and females is a real thing. Depending on who you ask, their situation (gender, age, economic status, etc), and when you ask them, the answer will vary. For a long time, I wondered about this myself and decided to do some research. Now, I can say definitively that yes, the pay gap is a real thing working against women in today's time.
According to data from the US Census Bureau, it was proven that American women on average earn 18.8% less than their male counterparts. This is solely looking at gender, but if we start to look at race as well, the numbers look a lot grimmer in most cities. white women generally make less money than men, but women of color earn even less. After white women, Asian women make the most money. Then, Black women, and finally Hispanic women. This proves that on top of gender, the race also plays a large factor when it comes to one's salary.
The pay gap is also attributed to male-dominated industries, industries that tend to include higher wages, especially when it comes to the financial industry. Within the U.K, 521 thousand males are full-time employees in the finance sector compared to 346 thousand females. Women need to have more of a footing in these industries if we want to take proactive steps to close the wage gap, even though it becomes difficult to close the gap when all women aren’t receiving fair wages. Compared to a white man's dollar, Latina women make 54 cents, Black women make 63 cents, and Asian women make 89 cents. It should be understood that women of color are more likely to work lower-paying jobs. The pay gap is present in every single profession, and the impact is greater than just salary, it has the ability to create a divide. The divide is not just between women and men but it can be created within women. Starting to separate and dissociate from one another by race, because of the lack of salary equity.
The pay gap is something that actively works against women, and the more people know that it is a fact, not fiction, the easier it will be to combat. Some ways to help women achieve equal pay is by following the footsteps of various successful women and to actively seek out promotions. Women are expected to work much harder for the same pay as their male colleagues, as well as having the responsibility of uplifting one another. Being able to implement these techniques will hopefully not only shorten the gap but demolish it altogether.
Work Cited
[2] https://www.businessinsider.com/wage-gap-gender-data-top-us-cities-2018-4