The Reality of the Wage Gap
In America, a woman earns seventy-nine cents for every dollar a man earns doing the same job. All over the world, women earn a fraction of what men earn and in no country does a woman get equal pay to a male coworker. All women have faced this social inequality and it is hoped that through organizations and spreading awareness, the gender wage gap in society will be fixed. Kerri Sleeman faced this injustice and spoke out about it.
In “Bankruptcy Court Revealed Heartbreaking Pay Inequality,” by Elizabeth Owens, the story of Kerri Sleeman and her encounter with the wage gap inequality is told. Sleeman worked as a manager at a company that created laser welding assembly systems. When the company went bankrupt in 2003, all of the workers went to court in order to get their final paychecks. Sleeman found that the men who worked under her recieved bigger claims for two weeks of work than she did: “I was disappointed and angry and thought that maybe someday I could figure out why it had happened.” When she approached her supervisor, he told her that the pay was non-negotiable and that the men were the sole providers for their families. However, Sleeman had a family, too and she said, “Pay inequity is a family issue….it affects everybody.” Yet nothing changed. She found she lost $10,000 in pay and retirement benefits while working at this company because of her gender.
Women like Kerri Sleeman are losing a substantial amounts of money and are not given equal opportunities and the primary reason is because of their gender. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) is an organization the combats the wage gap and gender inequality. The AAUW provides information to the general public about the wage gap and oppressions women face. In addition, they provide financial support, help in salary negotiation for women, and assist women who are going to college to gain a higher level education. Their goal is to raise awareness and help advocate for women in the working world. Formed in Washington D.C. in 1881, they call themselves an “equality advocacy organization” and work with many colleges and have national offices situated throughout the United States. The group was formed when Marion Talbot and Ellen Richards met in Boston with fifteen other women representing eight colleges. They talked about the needs of women in colleges and in the work force. They were officially established on January 14, 1882. Since then they have grown, and today their main goal is to empower women and raise awareness about gender inequality. They serve women specifically but try to inform the general public, too. There are many ways to help this cause like becoming members, writing articles to gain awareness, or donating to the cause. Recently, AAUW received a $3.7 million grant to help women. They will continue to help women to strive for higher education, and they hope the wage gap will close.
The wage gap and inequitable advantages men have over women in the workplace needs to be addressed and readily fixed. Women like Sleeman have experienced these unjust wages and treatment. It is important that these issues are addressed so people can have equal power in their places of work. The people who possess the knowledge and skills needed for a job should be the people receiving the higher pay. People should receive their pay based on the amount of work they put in. Not giving women equal pay as men is not only affecting their lives but also their self worth and confidence. People need to comprehend how wage inequality hurts different groups of people. So, everyone should advocate for women’s equal pay and help contribute to organizations like AAUW that address this problem in our society and try to make the world more fair for everyone.
Works Cited
AAUW. "AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881." AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881. AAUW, 23 Oct. 1996. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.
NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN & FAMILIES |. "America’s Women and the Wage Gap." Trade, Jobs and Wages (2015): 1-4. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace- fairness/fair-pay/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf>.
Owens, Elizabeth. "Bankruptcy Court Revealed." AAUW Empowering Women Since 1881 Bankruptcy Court Revealed Heartbreaking Pay Inequity Comments. AAUW, 09 May 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.