Gender Gap and Comppensation (Coursework Sample)

Gender Gap and Compensation
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Despite years of activism and concerted efforts by the government, pay gap between men and women continues to persist. In the US, women who work full time in various sectors of the economy are paid about 83 cents to every dollar earned by men doing the same job. The effects of the gender gap are wide and far, which is why the issue should be seen as a societal problem as opposed to a women’s problem. When women get underpaid, their families that include children, husbands and members of the extended family suffer. Also, given the fact that most single parents are mothers, underpaying women increases the likelihood of poverty. Needless mention that poverty is something that affects the whole society, men and women included.
Closing the Gap
Gender gaps in employment opportunities and pay have persisted partly due to segregation in the labor market. In this respect, men and women tend to work in different sectors and different jobs, with female-dominated sectors and jobs attracting lower wages. For instance, historically people assumed that doctors should be men while nurses should be women. Such unconscious discrimination often leads to gaps (Mello, 2019). The issue of work-life balance also works against women in the labor market. For example, lack of childcare facilities often forces more women than men to take parental leave. The gap can be reduced by educating the public about unconscious gender bias. In this way, people, especially human resource teams, will become more conscious about employment stereotypes and decisions they make at work. Women should also be empowered to return to work as quickly as possible after giving birth. This can be achieved through provision of childcare facilities at workplaces and flexible working schedule for new mothers.
Legal Provisions
There are a number of laws that have been enacted over the years to protect women against discrimination at the workplace and the same time address the gender gap. One such law is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978. The PDA prohibits all aspects of employment discrimination including pay, hiring, promotion, firing and much more on the basis of pregnancy. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was also enacted over two decades ago to protect new mothers and other employees experiencing severe health conditions from discrimination. New mothers are entitled up to 12 months of unpaid leave under FMLA. The federal law also protects women against sex discrimination before or during employment. For example, Title IX prohibits women, especially faculty members in colleges and universities from sex discrimination during hiring. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 also prohibits employers from paying men and women different rates for the same work.
Despite the existence of the aforementioned laws, gender gap continues to be a problem. This is partly because employers use exemptions to these laws as an excuse to pay women lower rates th