The Wage Gap is a Myth! Right?

The wage gap is one of the most controversial topics when talking about gender equality but, it shouldn't be controversial at all. The most present argument against the wage gap is that it is a “myth”. No concrete argument just people stating it's a myth and backing it up with reasons that are even more offensive to women. But let me first define what the wage gap is before attacking the arguments against it. The wage gap is simply a term to explain the unequal distribution of pay between women and men in america. From recent studies it had been found that in the United States women make on average 78 cents for every dollar a man makes according to a Washington Post article from 2015. While that may not seem like a huge difference to some people adding it up for a yearly salary shows a distinct inequality

One of the main arguments against the wage gap is women that are not married make on average 95 cents for every dollar a man makes. So this makes men and women equal right? Wrong! This not only implies that a women has to be unmarried but also disregarding the simple fact that 5 cents is still a difference. Another argument against the wage gap presents itself in the field of professional sports. This was most present in soccer between the men and women's national teams. The main argument is that the men's team is watched more and makes more revenue so should be paid more. Makes sense right? But what is interesting is that in 2015 the women's soccer team generated more revenue than the men's team and also won the World Cup, yet they were paid only a quarter of what the men were paid. This is a perfect example of how blatant the wage gap really is and how sad it is that the women's soccer team had to file a suit to even bring attention to this. 

Another way to look at gender gap is focusing not only on difference between men and women in general but to look how different races are also affected by this inequality. When we take a look at how much a woman makes in each racial category compared to that of a white man we see an even more drastic difference. A study done by ACS (American Community Survey) showed these statistics. They included the races/ethnicities,Hispanic/Latina, African American, White, Asian, Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander, and American Indian/ Native Alaskan. Asian women were the highest at 85 cents per dollar while Hispanic/Latina made 54 cents for every dollar a white male makes. We can see that racial minorities are severely affected by the wage gap and are at a major disadvantage when it comes to being able to earn money and support a family. Lastly we can look at the wage gap when it comes to female dominated fields of work. A classic argument against the wage gap states that women are just choosing jobs that pay less than men. But even when women dominate the work field men in these jobs still on average make more money and have more opportunities than women. This is commonly referred to as the glass escalator phenomenon. 

The main point of this blog post is to argue against the blatant lie that the wage gap is a myth and to show the wage gap is a huge and prevalent issue in today's society. While the pay between men and women has become more equal in the last century (particularly starting in 1970 with women's progression in education and workplace participation) we hit a stalemate in growth in 2001 to present day. According to AAUW if we continue at the this slow rate of progression toward equality, we will not reach equal pay until 2152. Now I don’t know about you but that is much much too long for something we should have already achieved. If we want to see change this dangerous stereotype that the wage gap is a “myth” needs to be dismissed immediately. 

Works Cited

Miller, Kevin. "The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2017)." Empowering Women Since 1881. AAUW, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Pearson, Catherine. "No, The Gender Pay Gap Isn't A Myth -- And Here's Why." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Dec. 2016. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.