The Truth Between the Unjust Pay
In the United States in 2013, on average, women earned about $0.78 to every dollar that a man made. In 2012, a study showed that nearly half of all working women earned at least half of the family income. Not only is the gender pay gap an issue in the United States, but countries such as Australia, Canada, Korea, and Japan also struggle with unequal pay for women. The gender pay gap is a serious problem in many parts of the world and in order to stop this inequality, something needs to be done.
Elizabeth Owens from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) website wrote an article on the gender pay gap. This article is centered around Maxine Lampe who was treated and paid unjustly in her workplace. Lampe started her teaching career in the 1970s while her husband was still in graduate school. She was working to earn money for the both of them, but the school district she worked for did not quite understand the situation she was in. The school district would not allow for her to have the same head-of-household payment that most men received. Lampe argued saying that her husband was in school and that she was the head of the household at the time because she had the only paying job in their household. The school turned her down and told her that just because her husband is in graduate school does not make her the head of the household. Gender inequality in pay was a part of her job in public school administration as well. She tried to reason with the school district, and when she asked for equal pay, one of the board members responded with, “You don’t need as much pay because your husband is a professor and you have enough money.” She was enraged by this comment and still believes that women should get paid equally no matter what their husband does for a living.
The National Organization for Women, or NOW, is one of many groups of feminist activists in the United States working to get equality for women. Formed in 1966, NOW works towards economic equality and to put an amendment into the US Constitution that will make sure women have the same rights as men. There are over 500 local and campus associates in all fifty states and even in the District of Columbia working towards spreading awareness of this issue. One of NOW’s top priorities is equal pay and equal job opportunities for women in the United States. Along with this, NOW also helps to increase educational employment, business opportunities, and to enact tougher laws against violence, harassment, and discrimination. One of the ways to get involved is to become a member and donate or to join NOW’s visionary circle, which is a group of supporters who include NOW in their estate plans as a legacy to achieving equal rights.
In conclusion, numerous women struggle with unjust pay in many countries around the world. There is so much to be done to help even out the pay in the United States and in the other countries that deal with this conflict. Help women around the world by acting against the gender pay gap, participating in movements around the country, or even donating a small amount of time or money to an organization that helps women in unfair circumstances and maybe someday in the near future, everyone can have the equal pay that he or she should have had years ago.
Works Cited
Owens, Elizabeth. "Denied Fair Pay, She Became an Advocate." American Association of University Women. AAUW, 8 Apr. 2013. <http://www.aauw.org/2013/04/08/denied-fair-pay/>. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.
"Who We Are." The National Organization for Women. National Organization for Women, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2016. <http://now.org/about/who-we-are/>.
"Women Deserve Equal Pay." The National Organization for Women. National Organization for Women, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2016. <http://now.org/resource/women-deserve-equal-pay-factsheet/>.