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Pages:
4 pages/≈1100 words
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2 Sources
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APA
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Literature & Language
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Essay
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Gender Gap (Essay Sample)

Instructions:
Discuss the gender gap source..
Content:
The article focuses on the pay gap that exists between male and female workers it points out that in 2011, only three percent of full-time working women would claim to have equal or more pay than men. The figure is very low considering the talk and reforms addressed towards equal pay in America. The pay gap seems to vary in the profession, therefore, a woman can earn significantly less or relatively less according to their profession. An example would be the chief executive position, where there is a difference of 31% between the earnings of men and women. Women experience a notable pay gap of averagely six hundred and fifty-eight dollars within a week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that in 534 professions, only seven of them pay women more than their counterparts. The figure would translate to 3% of the female workforce in the country. However, the extra earning the women get is relatively low compared to the gap between men and women in other organizations. Sarah Glynn, who works at American Progress as a policy analyst reveals that sorting the pay gap according to the profession, disproves the theory that women earn less than men by choice. The conjecture is that women normally choose low paying job which requires less energy and effort so that they can stay at home more and raise their kids. Glynn discredits the theory by pointing out the wage gap in the chief executive positions. She points out that, in order to occupy such positions, one must have invested heavily no matter the gender, such positions d require time, dedication, and money. Therefore, one cannot say that the gap is because women often stay at home with their kids as the women in the senior position work as hard or even harder than their counterparts to get there yet their pay is significantly lower. Sarah believes that a cause of the pay dynamic is that women rarely broker their starting salaries which are proven by research to affect their income in the future (Fairchild, 2017). I am going to discuss how Erving Goffman and Nancy Chodorow would explain the gender pay gap in America. Erving Goffman would major on symbolic interactionism and his stigma theory to explain the gender pay gap. Symbolic interaction suggests that social processes emerge from human interaction thereby it judges an individual based on his or her role to adapt into and cope with society. Therefore, in this case, both gender types are perceived as having a role to play that has led to the current outcome. Interactionism states that symbols and their interpretations are very important in any setting, relationships change, and relationships can be negotiated (Appelrouth & Edles, 2015). Women were and still are perceived as the primary caregivers in a family or home setting. Therefore, they are expected to be more involved with raising up a family and focusing more on the kids than their work which makes them select less demanding jobs translating to lower payment rates no matter their seniority (Fairchild, 2017). However, while the scenario above may have been the case, with time, women have been empowered and can decide to focus on both the job and the family or purely work. Therefore, women are now using the principle that relationships can change or be negotiated to achieve equal pay with their male counterparts. Unfortunately, this is a slow process because of the prior idea in everyone’s mind that men are more viable than women because they do not have to focus on their personal lives as much. Therefore, Goffman would suggest that women work on changing the norm first which would resultantly change people’s perception on the pay issues thereby allowing women to earn as much as men. Erving’s stigma theory states that stigma, a behavior attitude, or reputation contributes into discrediting socially causing an individual or a group to be rejected through a stereotype rather than accepted normally (Appelrouth & Edles, 2015). In this case, Goffman would point out that society considers men more hardworking and corporate centered while viewing women as family oriented with less work ethic than the men. The stigma associated with this stereotyping would affect how women are paid in corporations. During scheduling the pay list, one is likely to award the man a higher salary as he or she believes he works harder and has more potential than a woman. The woman will be awarded due to the perception that she may not bring in as much as the man because of her focus on her household. He would suggest that women work on eliminating the stigma associated with women and the workplace to be able to address the gender pay gap issue. Nancy Chodorow uses the perspectives of childhood experiences and intrinsic drives individually as the cause of the gender pay inequality. She focuses on motherhood as a time to teach and nurture children to aid them in believing the right thing which they will do even when they are grown. Therefore, Nancy would point the blame to the mothers of the previous generation who were influenced at the time to incline their children to the belief that male children are better in workplaces than girls. Generations have influenced each other till this point where women stand up for their right to equality and demand equal pay. She would encourage people especially the mothers of the current generation to treat their children equally enabling them to view both genders as equal even in their adulthood. When raising up children, they are bound to learn and stick by some experiences which end up shaping their perspectives and opinions in life. when a generation grows up under the same condition, this becomes a social norm which is followed (Appelrouth & Edles, 2015). An example is most families grew up with their mothers as the primary caregiver while the father was the primary breadwinner. Therefore, more women took on jobs that were less demanding compared to their spouses allowing them time to cater for the kids. That norm was adopted and formed into a social practice. Therefore, women are automatically viewed as people who will do less work and therefore should receive a lower pay. Therefore, mothers and women, in general, should expose the younger generation to a different set of experiences thereby chan...
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