A recent study by the US Census Bureau (Spring 2017) regarding the earning levels of American men and women still revealed a striking disparity between the sexes when it came to who made how much money in terms of median wage. Women still earn only about 80% of what men do according to the study's national conclusions. While it is obvious that this gap exists, it is much harder to pinpoint what exactly is causing it. The only logical explanation ( provided by the Pew Research Center) suggests that this gap occurs because women take more breaks from work to care for family, but that does not really explain the extant wage gap between older women and men. In y'all's opinions, what do you really think is the cause behind this gender gap?
I know that the answer seems obvious (sexism) but can you elaborate? What exactly makes this form of discrimination economically advantageous in our Capitalist economy? Also, what would be the best way to address this gender workplace discrimination?
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/03/gender-pay-gap-facts/
I once listened to a podcast from an Economics professor at Harvard who believed that the main reason behind the gender pay gap in the US is flexibility in hours. According to her, women are more likely to be less flexible in late night shifts as compared to men, and thus they receive a lower pay. I also believe that there is ingrained bias in the workplace and subjective salary policies. In addition, many male-dominated jobs remain barred from most women.
Yes, gender bias in the workplace is definitely a huge factor. I've heard all kinds of excuses for the pay gap, the most shocking: "women don't need to be paid as much because they can rely on the money their husbands earn". Of course, not all bosses who distribute unequal pay among men and women are necessarily sexist, they simply take advantage of and contribute to a sexist system in order to spend less money on salaries.