Blog #4 - Melanie

I definitely support the “No Position”. Though I have never experienced wage discrimination personally I firmly believe that it does exist and it is not a matter of “the forces of supply and demand” but rather a matter of “the old boys club” – you are either a member or you are out of luck.
I believe that hourly workers in a structured environment are generally paid the same regardless of gender as they are paid per job description and pay scale. However once you move up the ladder a bit and get into the less structured “salaried” positions there is a lot more room for the “old boys club” mentality to come into play. This is where I see that there is the greatest opportunity for unequal pay practices to go unchecked. I have read many articles in other classes on this subject and they all seem to agree that women do not necessarily negotiate as hard for a higher salary nor do they press forcefully enough for bigger raises – men generally do not have any problems asking for or even demanding more money. Unfortunately, “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”. That definitly does not make it fair or even acceptable.

Certainly there are high paying jobs that are more dangerous and jobs that require more physical strength, or require you to be away from home for extended periods of time that are dominated by men. For example working on deep-sea oil platforms or covert special operations positions with the CIA. Men fill the majority of these jobs, but I would argue that more women are entering into even these lines of work and they should receive equal pay for taking the same risks as men and doing the same job as men.

I found some interesting facts on Newsweek.com regarding the wage gap:

8 months' worth of groceries
The amount a woman could buy for a family of four if she were paid the same as her male peers, according to data from the Institute for Women's Policy Research and the USDA.

58 cents
The average wage among Latina women in the United States. The number among African American women is 70 cents.

23 percent
The amount less than their male colleagues that full-time-working women who haven't had children make 10 years out of college.

$1.2 Million
The amount less, over a lifetime, that a female college graduate will earn, compared to her male peers.

$4,600
The amount less a female MBA (graduating from a top-tier school) will make than her male colleagues in her first job out of graduate school, according to a new Catalyst study.

1 in 4
The number of businesspeople worldwide who say gender parity is a priority at their companies. One in five say that their companies commit resources to parity initiatives. The result, according to consulting firm Bain & Company: "Women have yet to rise to leadership levels at the same rate and pace as their male counterparts. Women enter the workforce in large numbers, but over time steadily ‘vaporize’ from the higher echelons of organization hierarchy”.

$13 Trillion
The difference in total income between men ($23.4 trillion) and women ($10.5 trillion) annually, worldwide.

Wyoming
The state with the worst wage gap, at 63 cents for every $1 a male earns. Vermont has the smallest gap, at 84 cents.

3,168,000
The number of women employed as "secretaries" in 2008, still the most common job for women.

43 percent
The number of women who are employed in jobs that make a median income of $27,000.

"Patriarchal corporate culture"
The biggest barrier to female leadership, according to the findings of a new World Economic Forum report, which noted that "Leading companies are failing to fairly integrate women in the workforce."

9 percent
The amount by which the United States' GDP could increase if the gender gap were closed.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/04/19/tracking-the-wage-gap.html