Gender Pay Gap
ENG 122
Jared Kline
September 15, 2014

The gender pay gap has been a long standing issue for concern. Even with the Equal Pay Act of 1963 women today still average $.80 per dollar of what men make. While the gap between men and women’s pay has narrowed a new gap has formed. The new gap exists between women who choice to have children earn less than women who choice not children. While some believe motherhood is a choice, women who choice to become mothers should not have to face a motherhood penalty, face a social stigma, and unfair leave practices. It has been will establish that women with children earn less than women without children. Researchers have typically found a family penalty of 7 – 15 percent for women with children compared to women without children. In the United States, while researchers identify a 7 percent penalty per child only one-third of this penalty can be attributed to the loss of work experience (Misra, J. & Strader, E., 2013). Working mothers are penalized due to the perception that they cannot be dedicated to both family and work. Mothers are normally expected to be the primary care giver for their children. Hymowitz (2005) mentioned that one of the reasons why women are not taken seriously in the workplace is because at some point in their career they will have children and they will not be as devoted to work as they should and they will not be willing to work those long hours needed. The counter argument can be made that no gap in pay exists because motherhood is a choice. With contraceptives and legal abortion women have more choices about when to have children. When mothers interrupt their careers and return to the workforce they earn less than they would if they had stayed and work continuously. By women choosing to become mothers they show that they are not as dedicated to their careers as employers