Tackling the Pay Gap

This article was written by Kelly Faughey. Kelly is currently a part of the Launch gURLs operation team and is working on our UX design!

Women have always been seen in society and cultures as the devalued gender. Women have been told to be seen, not heard. However, even though women have come so far throughout history, we still face problems in the workplace. Unfortunately, we continue to face roadblocks and barriers to our career paths and goals. The struggle is real and we need to talk about it with each other. There is still a struggle in making workplaces fairer and friendlier for all women. Laws have been implemented to stop bias against women from occurring in the workplace. Sadly, this problem still exists and is a global issue for women in the workplace.  

Some Important Facts from the AAUW:

• The gender wage gap affects all women but not equally.
• Women are paid less for the same amount of work
• Women are seen in low wage jobs and underrepresented in higher-wage positions.
• Women are often devalued in certain professions like healthcare and education.
• Women are caregivers for families so they face lower pay. 
• Women earn less out of college than men’s yearly earnings. 

So what is the gender pay gap anyway and how does this problem affect me? 

Gender gap pay is the difference between men and women’s salary earnings depending on where they live and their ethnic background. This issue not only affects women, but families as well. Prices have gone up and families can’t survive on the sole provider known as the “breadwinner” anymore. As stated in “The Simple Truth about the Pay Gap” when women get paid less, it leads to poor living conditions, lack of nutrition, and few opportunities for families and children.

In America, some states are taking action by creating programs to impact women’s futures. These programs were specifically created to help fund women startups and provide free tech training and workshops for women. One organization that is fighting for women’s equal pay to their gender counter partner is the AAUW that stands for the American Association of University Women. This non profit organization empowers women through research, education, and advocacy and has supporters globally. In their report “Graduating to a Pay Gap”, the research findings revealed that just one year out of college women were making less than men and they were working full-time job roles. 

Globally women also struggle for equality and rights as stated in Global Issues: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. Not only this, but women have fewer opportunities than men and that there is a persistent gap within education, health and safety of women and girls in other countries. Women in other countries have a lower self worth and lack the confidence to make decisions that will affect change. Also, women are viewed differently by men and boys from other countries. In order to make this gender equality change men and boys will have to view women differently,   

How can we help? 

First off, we can help each other by talking about these issues and sharing salary information. A recent article on the Harvard Law School blog references different techniques you can use to negotiate your salary. Another fascinating fact that was discovered is that women negotiate more assertively for other individuals, such as their employees, than they do for themselves. This article also says that men are more aggressive negotiators than women which is why women’s salaries are sufficiently less. It is important that women learn to negotiate correctly and efficiently. This is a skill that can be practiced and learned. Importantly, always research the company or job role you will be pursuing. Know your worth-this is a highly important factor. We all have skills we are amazing at some we have to work on and learning traits. Know what makes you unique and why your skills are needed for this job role.