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The Gender Pay Gap

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There are many issues that are constantly brought to light by public figures such as racial inequality, judicial injustice, and political corruption. Although many issues are important and are talked about by public figures, the issue that has been talked about throughout the decades is the pay gap between men and women. The pay gap began in the past and has continued to be a consistent problem throughout time. The issue of pay equity has been mentioned in multiple speeches in order to sway the public’s opinion on whether or not policy changes need to be made in workplaces across the country. As big as the publicity surrounding the pay gap between men and women is, researchers have found that the gender pay gap is not as wide as some people …show more content…
There are also psychological variables that need to be considered such as the fact that women are more likely to choose jobs that aren’t physical nor high stress. On the opposite side of the spectrum, men are more likely to choose high stress jobs that require physical ability and long hours (Tobak). The gender pay gap also varies between jobs as some have a bigger wage gap between men and women than others. For example, jobs in the technological and scientific fields have a smaller gender wage gap than jobs in the business field or entertainment industry (Kliff). Some of the biggest pay gaps can be found in one of the biggest industries - entertainment (SC8).Women have been widely known to be paid less than their male counterparts on the set of same …show more content…
Talking to government officials about the gender pay gap and making them aware that the pay gap between men and women is an issue is a good way to spread awareness of the gender pay gap, even if it is a narrow gap. For example, the Lilly Ledbetter Act was passed in 2009 and helped many women across the country easily file cases in court whenever they received an unfair paycheck. In the past, women had to report their unfair pay within 180 days of the first unfair paycheck they received and now women have 180 days of their last unfair paycheck to report their pay inequity (Taylor). Although it may be hard to talk to officials, a simple way to spread awareness of the gender pay gap is through social media campaigns such as Equal Pay Day. To reduce the gender pay gap, one must make others aware of the issue at hand (BE9). Equal Pay Day highlights how far into the next year the general population of women without variables considered would have to work in order to make the same amount as the average male population

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