The gender wage gap refers to the difference in remuneration and benefits offered to women working in the United States as compared to their male counterparts especially when working in the same industry (Gould et al., 2016) . This has been an underlying issue in the country as women and organization supporting their rights are fighting to bridge this gap as they believe that wages, in terms of salary benefits and remuneration should be based on merit and not gender. The rising level of income inequality has been attributed to various factors including the divided time between the women’s families and their Careers. This puts them at a disadvantage and the organizations involved are striving to prove wrong the notion that women can have it all. According to research done on the United States population, women are paid twenty percent less than what their male colleagues are offered.
The gender wage gap is termed as a form of gender based discrimination within the country and globally. This menace is evident for women in high executive positions and even for the female front line workers. This effect is experienced by female workers of all ethnicities but it is even worse for working class women from a marginalized community. Effort have been made to bridge this gap by encouraging women to pursue high level education in a bid to attain equality. This paper aims to analyze the both negative and positive effects of the gender wage gap in the United States. It will study and examine the causes of this notion, the consequences and recommendations to bridge the gender wage gap.
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There are several reasons that could result in the gender wage gap; some of which are valid and not discriminatory causes. The first reason is segregation in the industry sector. This has been caused by the division of labor with some industries being established as predominantly male such as the high tech industry (Blau & Kahn, 2017) . Dangerous industries such as mining, construction and manufacturing have been termed as jobs fit for men as they require physical strength. These jobs are wail paying leaving the liter roles such as customer service and marketing, that have less pay, for the female workers. This also brings up the issue stereotypes, that there are certain jobs that women are not fit for such as the fields of mathematics, science and engineering.
Another cause of gender wage gap is the work life balance. Women are often bombarded with the family roles, seeing that they are the main caregivers of their children. They often take parental leaves such as maternity leave to handle family issues and ensure the comfort and stability of their children (Cukrowska-Torzewska & Lovasz, 2020) . On the other hand, men rarely take parental leave as they are more engrossed in providing for the family than nurturing this makes more women to prefer part time jobs which have less pay. It is unfortunate that some industries hire women based on their parental status. They prefer single women with no children as the managers view this as increased commitment and undivided attention to the company.
Discrimination and gender norms are also a cause of the gender wage gap. They are caused by companies who degrade women while hiring while expressing the preference for men and this proves that they believe that women are incompetent. The gender norms that view women as home makers who are traditionally supposed to be housewives and build a family, has placed women at a disadvantage in the career industry as men have a hard time recognizing them as equals.
Several consequences have resulted from the gender wage gap. This has adversely affected pension for working women in the United States. They are subjected to be paid seventeen percent less benefits in pension as compared to men in the same industry because of their minimal wage (Cortés & Pan, 2019) . This will project in their elderly years as women are more likely to be subjected to poverty. This also projects on the women's lifetime earnings which are subjected to be sixteen percent less than the men.
The gender wage gap has also prompted women empowerment. This is a positive effect that has brought the introduction of organizations that work with women empowerment and they encourage them to develop their knowledge and skills through advancing their education. They offer scholarship for various women to further their education and advance their careers. The organizations also offer opportunities to these women to work in the organization and recommend them to other companies where they work and gain experience, putting them on a leveled career ground with their male colleagues. With this experienced the women will be competitive to work in any industry.
The gender wage gap also affects the county's economy. It results in the reduction of the nation’s GDP. The reduction of the gender wage gap will significantly increase the United States GDP per capita. The reduction of GDP based on gender wage gap could be associated with several factors such as, working in smaller firms, lack of work experience and lack of training. The countries also devalues women as women with degrees make approximately 1.2 billion less combined income, compared to their male colleagues.
This gap also affects the women's mental health as they see themselves as the lesser gender and this reduces their self-esteem and competitiveness in the job industry. With a decreased morale the women are less likely to fight for their rights, and demand better pay, benefits and general equal treatment in their workplaces. They tend to accept the fate and are shy and soft spoken in important meetings such as salary negotiations.
The gender wage gap has also helped in bringing into light other forms of discrimination such as gender based discrimination, racial discrimination, and discrimination according to age. This has championed for the development of organizations that promote equality. On the bigger picture, the development of these organizations has created job opportunities for United States citizens thus contributing in reducing the level of unemployment and improving the country's economic status.
Many explanations have emerged on ways to bridge the gender wage gap. The most prominent way is through education. This will be achieved by empowering, mentoring and encourage young girls to take their school work seriously and citing the benefits of being competent in one’s career (Schifman et al., 2019) . Working class women are also encouraged to keep on advancing their skills through education as this will keep them relevant and important in their specific job industries. This agenda is fuelled by the emerging number of fully funded scholarships offered to women and young girls. Another way to bridge the gap is through legislation whereby a law should be formed against gender based discrimination while hiring. This will prompt the managers to be keen on their hiring skills.
Conclusively, it is evident that the gender wage gap is an issue that has affected and continues to affect the United States population. The major effect of this issue is the demoralization of the working class women who do not feel valued and appreciated at their workplaces. The government should be keen on the efforts to bridge this gap for the improvement of the country at large and the economy.
References
Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2017). The gender wage gap: Extent, trends, and explanations. Journal of economic literature , 55 (3), 789-865.
Cortés, P., & Pan, J. (2019). When time binds: Substitutes for household production, returns to working long hours, and the skilled gender wage gap. Journal of Labor Economics , 37 (2), 351-398.
Cukrowska-Torzewska, E., & Lovasz, A. (2020). The role of parenthood in shaping the gender wage gap–A comparative analysis of 26 European countries. Social science research , 85 , 102355.
Gould, E., Schieder, J., & Geier, K. (2016). What is the gender pay gap and is it real?: The complete guide to how women are paid less than men and why it can’t be explained away . Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.epi.org/publication/what-is-the-gender-pay-gap-and-is-it-real/.
Schifman, L., Oden, R., & Koestner, C. (2019). Gender Wage Gap: Causes, Impacts, and Ways to Close the Gap.
