...pp. 65-82 ISSN 2152-1034 Gender Compensation Discrimination: An Exploration of Gender Compensation Gap and the Higher Education Connection Judith E. Grey-Bowen, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Donovan A. McFarlane, The Donovan Society LLC and Frederick Taylor University Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the gender gap and the potential factors that contribute to income inequality. Since the passing of the equal pay act, the median weekly earnings of women is still just seventy eight cents on each dollar that men earn (Center for American Progress, 2010). To put this in context, the pay gap in 1970 was sixty two cents and in 1992 it was seventy five cents (Institute for Women’s Research, 1993). Undervaluation of women’s work, occupational gender segregation, and discriminatory treatment in the workplace continue to hamper efforts to reduce the gender pay gap. A pay check is women’s and men’s most important source of income. Therefore, it is surprising, discriminatory and unfair to know that after both genders have worked satisfactorily on the same job; they do not receive the same pay. The gender pay gap is the best way to measure pay inequality between men and women. The authors discuss Gender Compensation Discrimination and examine the historical trends in pay difference, the various causes and the methods and paths considered for closing the Gender Compensation Gap. Key words: Gender Compensation Discrimination, Gender Compensation Gap, Equality, Rights...
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...REFERENCES 1. Ashton, Deborah. "What HR Can Do to Fix the Gender Pay Gap." Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Review, 02 Dec. 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2015. 2. What We're Watching in the Gender Wage Gap. (2010, September 1). Retrieved October 8, 2015. 3. Neale, M. (2015, June 29). More Reasons Women Need to Negotiate Their Salaries. Retrieved October 8, 2015. 4. Maatz, L. (2014, April 5). The Awful Truth Behind the Gender Gap. Retrieved October 9, 2015. 5. Smith, K. (2014, April 10). The Gender Pay Gap Is Just the Beginning of America's Pay Inequity Problem. Retrieved October 9, 2015. 6. The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Fall 2015) (AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881) 7. Mind the Gap: How One Employer Tackled Pay Equity. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2015. 1. It’s no secret that women are paid less than men, even when occupations are held constant, and even when those occupations are high-pay and high-skill. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median weekly earning for American female physicians working full-time is $1,497, while for men it is $2,087. A 2013 BLS report shows pay inequity by occupation for women of all races: women in architecture and engineering occupations earn 83.7% to the dollar in comparison to men and in computer and mathematical occupations 81% to the dollar in comparison to men. When Forbes analyzed 2012 median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers data from BLS for the top-paying professions,...
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...The article “Gender, Pay and Work Satisfaction at a UK University” by Maria Smith is an exhaustive quantitative study of a particular state employer. The paper analyzes the facts and figures on salary and examines results from a staff satisfaction survey held at a UK University (University A) and discusses the ‘paradox of the contended female worker’. This paradox states that although women earn less than men, their satisfaction with the payment seems to be higher than in the men’s case – despite of disadvantages such as job security and content, promotion opportunities and sexual harassment (Crosby, 1982). Also, the author explains that these gaps vary from institution to institution. The purpose of the article is to contribute to the small amount of the existing job satisfaction research for men and women working at higher education institutions. The study described in the paper focuses on the satisfaction levels of two groups of University A staff – the administrative and academic teaching staff. Despite all efforts in the past, gender pay gap has persisted to the present time and takes place even at higher education institutions in the UK, where a clear agenda on pay equality, as negotiated by various organizations and unions, should exist (Smith, 2008, p. 622). Still, studies show the existence of pay gaps between genders and conclude that women have less promotion opportunities and a lower chance to earn as much as their equally ranked male colleagues (Blackaby et al...
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...worked as an administrator for the New Public School District No. Eight (the District). She brought suit against the District alleging gender discrimination for (1) unequal pay, and (2) the non-renewal of her contract. The district court granted summary judgment to the District based upon res judicata and a lack of evidence supporting her claim. We reverse the district court's judgment and remand the case for further proceedings. I. Background 2 Simmons worked as an administrator for the District from 1991 to 1996. On April 20, 1996, after a lengthy hearing, the District voted not to renew her contract for the next school year. Simmons sued the District in state court alleging various claims, including violations of her North Dakota statutory rights as an educator. The state trial court rejected her claims. On appeal, the North Dakota State Supreme Court reversed. See Simmons v. New Public School Dist. No. Eight, 574 N.W.2d 561 (N.D. 1998). On remand, the parties stipulated to an agreement to settle the claims. The settlement, however, specifically gave Simmons the right to pursue the claims listed in the EEOC complaint she had filed against the District. 3 Simmons eventually received a "right to sue" letter from the EEOC, and filed this action in federal district court. She initially alleged1 that her contract was not renewed because of gender discrimination. Before the district court, she...
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...pay going to employees and arising from their employment” (Dessler, 2013, p. 352). According to Dessler (2013), it consists of both “direct financial payments and indirect financial payments.” As we explore the case study of Acme Manufacturing, we will see the salary inequities and the struggles that the newly appointed president, Joe Black, has to go through to fix those issues. In an article titled “Fair Pay or Power Play?” Shin (2013) reported that “pay inequity provides strong motivation for CEOs to restore equity.” For this case, I will identify some issues and recommend some plans to resolve the salary inequities in the Acme case. Some key issues that existed within Acme Manufacturing were: lack of individual equity, internal equity issues, no pay structure for salaried employees, and lack of legal considerations in compensation. Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) “makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace.” (“Laws Enforced by EEOC,” n.d.). With the previous president, Bill George, salaried employees bargained their pay. Joe Black identified that there were female supervisors that were earning less than male supervisors. Ultimately the underlying issue was management failed to create a compensation plan that aligned with a reward strategy. According to Dessler (2013), “A compensation plan should first advance the company’s strategic aim.” Therefore, management should create an aligned reward strategy that consists...
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...2017, women in Ohio only made 77 percent of what the average Ohio man makes in one year (Webb). There is so much limitation for women striving to reach the top in any business today. Even in recent years, after some progress regarding women’s advancements in corporate settings has been made, it is found that only one tenth of the senior roles in companies are filled by women. The idea of the glass ceiling started in the 1980’s, when the phrase was used in multiple different books to describe an invisible barrier imposed on people because of race, gender, or any other “limiting” factors that may socially inhibit one from reaching their goal (Lewis). This is a socially constructed limit on these people, and is very prominent in corporate environments. When the Americans were asked if most people thought that barrier has been broken, 86 percent thought that the glass ceiling has not yet been broken, if even cracked (Lewis). Women’s salary, rank, and reputation in the workforce has consistently changed over the years. Fair treatment at the office has been a constant struggle for women in today’s society. Breaking...
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...``This paper will discuss Case Example A. Elaine was fired by Jerry after being employed for two months. Elaine is suing Jerry to get her job back. Shortly after Elaine was fired, Jerry hired a man name Kramer who has less education than Elaine. Elaine was discharged with no reason because she was an at-will employee. Elaine needs to figure out what the legal facts are behind her discharge. The main fact that needs to be proven is whether or not Elaine was wrongfully discharged. Elaine can figure this out by asking her self questions about the different legal issues at hand. Was there a statutory exception? Federal labor law prohibits employers from discharging employee-members of labor unions in violation of labor laws or collective bargaining agreements. Title VII along with federal and state law also prohibit discharge based on discrimination of race, gender, religious belief, age, handicap, or any other form of discrimination. This is probably the best chance Elaine will have to make a case for a lawsuit. Elaine must decide if she feels that Jerry discharged her because of the fact that she is a woman or else because of her age. Unfortunately for people who are discriminated against, this is always something that is hard to prove. Elaine can also ask herself, was there a contract exception or breach of contract? Sometimes an employer and an employ may have an implied-in-fact contract. This would include a company handbook, company bulletin, or a policies and...
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...Abstract Gender discrimination is an important issue in the workplace in today’s world. Female employees are facing gender discrimination in the form of different dimensions. This discrimination is disturbing their performance. The main aim of this study is to see the effect of these gender discrimination dimensions which include glass ceiling, salary gap and discrimination in facilities on the productivity of female employees with the mediating effect of job commitment and job satisfaction. The research is focused on the private education sector. The population frame is the female teachers in the private education institutes. A sample of 130 female teachers is collected for this study. The framework is developed for our study for checking the impact of glass ceiling, salary gap and discrimination in facilities on the productivity of female employees. The hypotheses are developed and after the data analysis some of the hypothesis are rejected and some of the hypothesis are not rejected. The hypotheses that the glass ceiling, discrimination in facilities and salary gap has negative impact on employee productivity is accepted which made us to conclude that these discrimination has a big impact on employee productivity and ultimately organizational performance. This study will give some guidelines to the managers and policy makers in any organization that how to reduce these discriminations. Key words: Gender discrimination, Glass ceiling, Employee productivity, salary gap, discrimination...
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...woman earns in the average workplace (Gender). This is a twenty-three percent gap in the pay between genders (Gender). Some claim that the gender pay gap is a “myth” or is just made up; however, it is not (Perry and Biggs). Why is this still happening? Why are the genders not being treated and respected equally? . Today, in the twenty-first century, it is ridicules and unacceptable that women are still only earning seventy-seven cents to every dollar a man earns, and this needs to change today. A male and female with the same education, same job and position, and that work the same hours are earning different wages. In specific, women are earning on average seventy-seven cents to every dollar a man earn (Gender). Those who oppose this idea and claim that Is not the most important issues for us to be dealing with as a country. Some may say that we should focus on the war on drugs, maybe tax issues, or even making higher education more easily available an affordable to all. All of these issues are important, however, the gender pay gap is important, why should a man earn more than a woman for the same job? This is very demeaning to women saying that this issues is not worth the time of day to be fixed. More and more women are joining the workplace every day; working to support a family, pets or maybe even just themselves. That twenty-three percent gap will add up to nearly $5,000 annually on average that women deserve to get (Gender). Women generally will need more time...
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...One of the most discussed inequalities in the United States is the inequality regarding pay due to gender. People all over the country and even the globe are affected by this inequality. Whether it is unfairness in the workplace due to career choice influenced by gender or more specifically, job title held, payment inequalities are relevant more than ever in today’s society. In this paper I will look into the benefits and consequences of payment inequalities due to gender and recommend why salary should be equal regardless of gender. People preforming the same job duties day by day are not seeing a horizon in the equality of wage based off of work done. Rather they are seeing an inequality due to their gender. Companies with this inequality...
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...get are a reflection of the organization's value of the worker’s worth, and to the position or the duties required to accomplish the job duties. Compensation could and should provide motivation for the worker or applicant to perform to the best of their abilities, not simply clock in and clock out. WHAT IS COMPENSATION The meaning of compensation is as followed, a fundamental component of employment and a critical issue for management and policies set in place. It traditionally refers to wages of employment, to include base pay or salary, bonus or incentives, benefits, and non-cash compensations. Organizations need to set and communicate clear principles by which workers are paid. In the least, they should ensure compensation policies adheres to employment standards and legislation. Some compensation elements governed by regulations are Minimum wage, holiday pay rates, overtime pay, payment methods and times, deductions, equal pay, and vacation pay. Also, many companies adopt compensation principles that ensure fairness and equity in pay rates and salary administration, and transparency in compensation practices. COMPENSATION POLICIES: An effective...
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...etc. But the most serious issue is the gender discrimination which has constantly degraded the values of society to which we belong. Among all the different kinds of discrimination, the most serious is the gender discrimination which we as a society have failed to deal with since ages. Discrimination refers to inequality. Gender discrimination therefore refers to inequality between people of opposite sex. Gender Discrimination at Workplace There is an alarming rise in the rates of increasing gender discrimination at workplaces nowadays. Every now and then we come across reports related to gender discrimination at workplace. Researchers have also ratified this. Gender discrimination can take place in various forms in respect to unusual or unequal and harsh treatment to a person of one sex as compared to the person of the other sex. * Often, there is discrimination in terms of wage pay to the women employees as compared to male employees as the women are often tagged as the ‘housewife material’ and hence is offered lower wages/salaries and men are considered hard working and dedicated comparatively. This is a common discrimination that women laborers face. What do you think? * Many a times, women (housewives) generally step out of their houses during their difficult times to deal with the hardships to earn to provide the basic necessities to their family and hence the employers take the advantage of the situation by providing lower salaries irrespective of the qualities...
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...The article from the Harvard Business Review titled, “Hacking Tech's Diversity Problem” is more than an article about gender bias in the technology industry. The article is more than just talking about the problem of gender bias, it is also about how to identify it and stop it with ‘interrupters’. In addition to identifying and stopping gender bias, the article discusses measuring the change through metrics individually identified by each company because interrupters and measurement metrics will vary from company to company. First thing, the article covered was explaining what a bias interrupter is. A bias interrupter is a small systematic change in the way business actions are conducted. The purpose is to resolve an area affected by gender bias organically. They gave an example in the article in which a small change was made to the wording in job postings. It was described like this Researchers Andreas Leibbrandt and John A. List posted two versions of announcements for administrative assistant jobs in stereotypically masculine businesses -- NASCAR, football, and basketball. One version said nothing about salary; the other...
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...Women vs. Wal Mart Ethical Case Analysis Key Ethical Issue The main ethical issue in the Women and Wal-Mart case is its discrimination of women in the workforce, and how they go hand in hand with the utility, rights, and justice arguments of discrimination. The Utilitarian arguments claim that discrimination leads to inefficient use of human resources. This applies to the Wal-Mart case because they were not getting full use out of their employees because they would often times promote a man instead of a woman, even if she had more experience and was better qualified. Studies conducted by a statistical expert that the six women hired, Richard Drogin, revealed that a much larger amount of men were receiving promotions at every level in the Wal-Mart workplace, even though women’s performance ratings were higher than men’s. Wal-Mart was clearly not promoting or giving benefits to these women because of their gender, and they were stuck underneath the “glass ceiling.” The Rights-based arguments claim that discrimination violates basic human rights. In this case, Wal-Mart didn’t view women to be equal to men because men were receiving the promotions when it should have been the women, as stated before. A Kantian argument also states that a person would not want to be discriminated on the basis of their characteristics that do not affect the person’s ability to perform a job, in this case, being a woman. Wal-Mart is not viewing their male and female employees as equals, as...
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...Gender Inequality in the Workplace Christian Johnstone DeVry University Gender Inequality in the Workplace A woman, who had spent 23 years working her way up the ranks at a Vermont plastics company, sued the company for wage discrimination. The woman began her career as a secretary at the company and eventually made her way to high-level management. The company hired a male to replace her position when she retired, offering him a starting pay of $10,000 more a year to do the same job she had been doing. The male replacement ended up not working out, so the company asked the woman to return to her previous position. However, the company still didn’t offer her the same salary that they had offered her male replacement. (Lister, n.d.) Examples that are similar to, and far worse than the one mentioned, continue to persist in this country. Women continue to be blatantly discriminated against, and held back from deserved promotions while their male counterparts rise through the ranks in corporate America. Women have made great strides in the last few decades toward gaining workplace equality. However, in a continued effort toward moving forward, there needs to be a promotion of empowerment for women and giving them the autonomy needed to manage their own lives. The reality though, is that the phenomenon referred to as the glass ceiling does exist. “The ‘glass ceiling’ can be described as an ‘invisible, but impenetrable barrier which prevents women from reaching senior positions...
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