Throughout history, the need to battle against discrimination has been on-going; whether it is because of race, gender, religious beliefs, appearance or anything else that makes one person different from another, discrimination happens everywhere. One of the most talked about forms of discrimination happens in the workplace.
Women, who are just as equally trained, educated and experienced as men in modern America are still not getting paid equally. According to CNBC the average white woman makes 79 cents to every white man’s dollar. This alone is frustrating, but it becomes even more of an issue when you realize that women of color make even less compared to their male counterparts, with some women making as little as 43 cents to a man’s dollar.
This form of workplace discrimination can most likely be traced back to anitquated ideas that women are physically lesser than men, and that men are the rightful providers for their wives and children. Both of these supposed facts are often used as reasons that men deserve to be paid more, even though they are outdated.
Famous actor and TV host Jimmy Kimmel recently came out with a segment on his show called “Pedestrian Question” where someone from his show stops people on the street to ask them a series of questions.
In a recent episode, this segment tackled the issue of the wage gap. It was titled “Kids Explain Why Women Are Paid Less Than Men”and consisted of several cute but also saddening interviews with children, in which they explained why the gender pay gap still exists. Some of the children provided stereotypical masculine and feminine ideals as reasons women are paid less. One stated that women make less money because they would rather shop online instead of work. Others stated that men naturally work harder.
Thankfully, there were a few children who stood up and said that they think women and men are equal and should be paid accordingly.
These kids had telling but sweet reactions on an issue many adults are also still raising their eyebrows about: why are women paid less than men?
According to a recent Cosmopolitan article, it takes 15 months for a woman to earn what a man makes in 12 months. This injustice is undeniable, and has led both men and women to argue for pay equality.
Multiple celebrities have spoken out on the issue including Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep, Amy Schumer and Ryan Gosling.
Political candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are also advocates for the equal pay movement, while candidates like Ted Cruz voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act three times. Other conservative politicians believe pay should be based on experience, and pose the ridiculous argument that women lose skills while on maternity leave and thus deserve to at least become paid less than male counterparts after pregnancy.
April 12 is Equal Pay Day— it represents the three extra months it takes women to earn the salary a man makes throughout one year. The gap not only affects a woman’s pay check, but studies have shown that it makes women far more worried about the prices of housing, insurance and retirement plans. They fear that they won’t have enough money to afford them independently. The wage gap also takes a toll on families with financial concerns.
However, the wage gap is ultimately a symptom of a larger problem. The larger issue is the male gender having been long-time convinced that they deserve more than women across the board.
I believe that two people who are trained to have the same skill set should be paid equally, regardless of their sex. For me, the movement for equal pay isn’t only about money—it’s about ridding our society of blatant sexism towards women in the workplace.
