Working For Wages

Women are in the work force, keeping jobs, and trying to make a living. However, “occupational segregation” leads to discrepancies between the wages that men make as compared to women. Typically women are being paid less than the male population, and even though equal-pay legislation is trying to slim the gap, it is not always very effective. According to Seager, “this earnings discrepancy reflects several factors: outright gender discrimination, the concentration of women in female-dominated jobs, and the higher percentage of women working part-time.”

While equal-pay legislations insist that males and females be paid the same amount for the same job, this doesn’t overcome the fact that there is “occupational segregation” in which women typically do not hold the same jobs as men do. This can be from their gender, race, or class. How are women suppose to earn their equal pay if they are unable to attain the job in the first place? In addition, majority of the people in control of the equal-pay legislations are probably males with more power, who can then use this power to hinder women. They probably realize that what they are doing is not going to solve the problem, however, they are probably hoping that since they are putting forth effort, even though it may be a small amount, that people will not question their motives. I believe that equal-pay legislations are just trying to cover up a problem that they know they cannot fix, and keep the power within the hands of those who currently have it.
On another note, women are typically forced to have to work twice as hard to prove that they are just as capable as men are. This unequal determination for less pay seems to be swinging the power balance in the favor of males. Women have proven that they are just as competent and physically capable as men, however, males just turn their heads at this movement. How are women ever going to be paid equally if no one will acknowledge our strengths, goals, desires, intelligence, and capabilities?

Seager, J. The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World. Brighton: Myriad Editions Limited, 2009,
62-63.