The traditional image of a woman in society was one of a stay-at-home housewife up until the middle of the 20th century. The civil rights movement has changed that perception and made it acceptable for women to work in the United States. The values of the initiative have spread throughout the world since then, but some people still complain that discrimination against working women exists.
According to the proponents of the position, the negative attitudes toward women in the workplace manifest as the refusal to acknowledge their efforts. Vagins (2019) discusses the gender pay gap, a phenomenon where women consistently earn less than men on average. Popular claims regarding the phenomenon propose that women do not receive the raises and promotions they deserve and are paid less as a result.
However, there are alternate explanations for the existence of the gender pay gap, ones that claim that no discrimination occurs. As Bellstrom (2018) notes, women are less likely to ask for raises than men and tend to choose lower-paying jobs, though these factors do not explain the entirety of the phenomenon. Men take on risky but well-compensated positions such as police work, thus earning more.
Another significant aspect of what is perceived as discrimination is the fact that most women cannot work as much as men throughout their lives. Miller (2017) discusses marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, and child caretaking and finds that they all can convince a woman to work less and focus on the house. Women often cannot commit to working as fully as men, and employers pay them less as a result.
Overall, the positions of men and women in the workplace are not equal. However, while some gender biases may exist, the issue is likely mostly caused by women’s factors and behaviors. While some work should be done to improve their positions, it is likely impossible to achieve an entirely equal gender distribution in the workplace, and attempts to create such a situation would lead to unfairness.
References
Bellstrom, K. (2018). Don’t believe these 5 myths about the gender pay gap. Fortune. Web.
Miller, C. C. (2017). The gender pay gap is largely because of motherhood. The New York Times. Web.
Vagins, D. J. (2019). The simple truth about the gender pay gap. Web.