Blog #4: Is the Gender Wage Gap Justified?

Few will dispute the claim that a wage deferential exists between men and women, but there is still much debate as to why women typically make 80 cents for each dollar a man earns. The gender wage gap is a global phenomenon. The UN Development Fund for Women found that "a sex gap in earnings exists across almost all employment categories."

There are two schools of thought regarding the wage gap. One school claims that while the wage gap does exist, it cannot be thought of as merely an issue of gender discrimination. They cite economic and financial matrices that explain and justify that women essentially deserve to be paid less than men. Frankly, this argument disgusts me, but more on that in a minute. The second school takes a socialization approach a la' Brenda Allen and claims that blaming women's choices for the gender pay gap is a problematic rationalization employed to maintain male dominated hegemonic standards.

Below, I will outline each of these positions in more detail according to two essays published in Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Gender. I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that I prefer the latter argument that these economic and human capital rationalizations are oppressive and that women do not make choices that demand less pay for equal work, but I do encourage each of you to formulate your own opinions. I definitely welcome a debate on this topic. So as you read the following arguments think about your own stance. Which arguments do you support? Have you seen these arguments used in your own work experience? Depending on what side you take where do we go from here?

Yes Position: John Shackleton from the Institute of Economic Affairs in London:

• Pay differentials occur based on factors other than gender/sex
• Claims that a competitive market creates these differentials and if we are to remain competitive we must accept these differences. Due to the forces of supply and demand we cannon provide equal pay (What do you think about this notion of a competitive market?)
• Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations introduced us to the idea of compensating differentials - certain jobs particularly those that are deemed "unattractive" may have to be rewarded with higher pay to attract good workers. Furthermore, we must account for the difficulty and expertise of learning a job. Some forms of employment require years of training, education, and work experience, which is labeled human capital. The more human capital you posses the more money you should earn.
• Admits that there may be a taste for discrimination, but if we try to balance this taste by imposing laws that require men and women to receive equal pay, companies may push back by hiring more men and less women. (thoughts?)
• Believes that the gap has declined over time and expected to decline further. (What do you think about this in terms of a global context?)
• Most of the pay gap can be explained through residuals in economic analyses (high wages of a few white men and gendered patterns of occupational and educational experience), but is often falsely cited as discrimination.

No Position: Hilary M. Lips from Radford University's Center for Gender Studies:

• White men are not the only group that out earns women. These findings are consistent across all racial/ethnic makeups, which certainly lends credibility to the gender/sex wage gap as a global phenomenon.
• Even at the very highest levels of education, the gap is there and is in fact provides the largest discrepancy in pay.
• Gender related wag gap in every occupational category, which debunks the argument that women would receive equal pay if they did "man's" work.
• Wage gap may actually widen as the numbers of hours worked increase, which debunks the argument that women are paid less because they work less.
• The gender/sex wag gap is not about economics and not simply a issue of discrimination, its about a question of value between public/private work and the division of labor within the household.
• If women and men continue to accept the notion that the domestic and care taking work, i.e. "women's work," is not important enough for employers to accommodate, the gap will never close.
• The language of "choice" obscures and deflects from larger social forces. Yes positions claim that women choose lower-paid occupations, chose to work less hours, choose parenthood.
• According to Lips, the bottom line is that women's choices are not the problem. Women's choices occur in an environment that supports subtle sexism and discrimination.