We need to close the pay gap - and fast
Imagine this: your older brother and you are doing chores for your mom, but for every dollar he gets paid, you only make 82 cents. Upsetting, right? Well, that’s a reality for women across the country. According to the website Payscale, women are making 82 cents for every dollar a man makes in 2021. We need to work hard to close the pay gap as soon as possible.
The pay gap needs to be addressed right now because it’s unfair that women (especially women of color) make less than men, it causes poor mental and physical health in women, and the gap is closing way too slowly, so we need to do more.
It’s unfair that women (especially women of color) make less than men
The Economic Policy Institute says that women working as physicians and surgeons make, on average, $56.37 per hour, while the average male physician or surgeon makes $63.77 per hour. A woman working the same job as a man is still getting paid less. It isn’t right that a woman and man make different amounts based on their gender.
A study done by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that mothers saw a 7% pay reduction for every child they had, while evidence shows that fathers actually make more money for every child they have. Even though both parents have a child, the mother is the only one whose salary is hurt by it. This is unfair. Women shouldn’t have consequences for having children. No salary should be changed just because of the addition of a child, especially the man’s salary.
Single mothers are at a disadvantage because they only have one income that has been reduced for all of their children. According to the 2013 government report on Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support, 5 out of every 6 custodial parents were mothers. This means that many single mothers are making less than fathers and they have to provide for their children.
Cheryl Huges, a divorced black mother of two, began to pursue engineering in 1982, when this field had an overwhelming male majority. While trying to balance being a single mother, a student, and being discriminated against for her gender and race, Ms. Huges could never overcome the pay gap. She was cheated out of over 1 million dollars in earnings over the course of her career.
Women everywhere have stories just like Ms. Huges. They should not be cheated out of millions of dollars because of factors they can’t control. Not only does the pay gap take away from women’s bank accounts, it also takes away from their health.
The pay gap needs to be closed because it causes poor mental and physical health in women
A 2016 study done by Columbia University showed that women who make less than their male peers are 2.4 times more likely to experience depression and 4 times more likely to experience anxiety. Being paid less causes women to feel bad about themselves, and worrying about making payments stresses women out. This can cause anxiety and depression.
When women have kids, they are usually forced to take time off of work to tend to their children instead of the father. Some women also begin working part time jobs, leaving them with less money and more stress. This stress can cause substance abuse in women, along with a poor diet, a poor sleep schedule, and not enough exercise, according to the website World Economic Forum.
These health risks are a big deal and can affect someone’s life a tremendous amount. If we close the pay gap, these health issues will be less prominent in women.
Anne Kavanagh, the head of gender and women’s health at the University of Melbourne says, “The lack of a financial buffer may haunt women as they enter into their older age, and translate into lack of access to services and poorer health.” With old age comes health issues. For many women, it is difficult to fund medical care as they get older. They have less money to spend on the growing number of medical issues they have.
We need to speed up the process of closing the gap - it’s for the health of our women.
The gap is closing too slowly right now, and we need to do more
According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), if the pay gap continues to shrink at the current rate, Asain women will reach equality in 2041, white women will be paid equal in 2069, Black women will reach pay equality 300 years later, in 2369, and Hispanic women will be paid equal in 2451. Women shouldn’t have to wait hundreds of years to reach pay equality. We need to take steps to close the pay gap faster so women can have equal opportunities and so they won’t be cheated out of millions of dollars.
Chart from AAUW website
A 2018 study done by Robin Bleiweis, a research associate for women’s economic security for the Women’s Initiative at American Progress, showed that women make $10,194 less per year compared to men. This gap is even bigger for many women of color. While Asain women made $6,007 less than men, black women made $23,540 less, Hispanic or Latina women made $28,036 less than men, American Indian and/or Alaskan Native women made $25,844 less, and white women made $13,186 less than the average man per year.
Women can’t wait hundreds of years to be paid equally while being cheated out of so much money that they could benefit from. Things need to happen - and fast. But how?
Economist Laura Tyson says, “An important step to closing the gender pay gap is the more equitable sharing of parental responsibilities between men and women.” Women do, on average, about three more hours of unpaid work every day compared to men. If men and women shared the amount of unpaid work being done, women would have more time to do paid work, and this would help close the pay gap.