Gender Gap

The gender gap is known as the difference between men and women when it comes to economic outcomes. Economic
differences exist because of social, cultural, and political decisions and opportunities. The concept of a gender gap can be
applied in almost all aspects of life. It has a significant impact on society as it serves as a roadblock for women as they try to
gain economic advantage.

History of the Gender Gap

The gender gap in pay has been a long-standing issue in the United States. Efforts to address it began in 1944 with the
introduction of the Prohibiting Discrimination in Pay on Account of Sex bill, but it failed to pass. The 1963 Equal Pay Act made it
illegal to pay men and women differently for the same job. However, companies found ways to maintain pay disparities,
such as restructuring departments to give men higher-paying roles. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 addressed the issue but did
not fully resolve it. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the gender gap narrowed but without major legislative shifts.

Real progress came in the 2000s. Lilly Ledbetter sued Goodyear for 19 years of pay discrimination, but despite winning initially,
the court ruled against her due to a timing technicality. This led to the 2009 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, signed by President
Obama, which gave employees more time to file wage discrimination claims. Further progress came with the Paycheck
Fairness Act, first introduced in 2009 and finally passed in 2021, aiming to prevent wage discrimination based on sex.

Why Are Women Paid Less? What is the Impact of the Gender Gap?
Women have historically earned less than men due to The gender gap affects various industries and societies around
several key factors: the world in significant ways:
Types of Jobs: Women are often encouraged to Education: Women dominate fields like teaching, daycare,
work in roles like teaching, childcare, and domestic and childcare, but these roles are undervalued, underpaid,
work, which typically pay less. This reflects societal and understaffed compared to other professions.
views that such jobs are less important than male- Political Representation and Power: Women are
dominated roles. underrepresented in political offices and decision-making
Seniority: Women's careers are frequently positions. As a result, laws that impact women are often
interrupted by life events such as childbirth and child created by predominantly male policymakers, leading to
care responsibilities. As a result, they take more time women's perspectives being overlooked.
off work, which employers may use to justify STEM Careers: Fields like science, technology, engineering,
promoting men over women. Women are and mathematics have traditionally been male-dominated.
sometimes seen as "unreliable" employees, leading Women have faced barriers to entering these fields due to
to fewer promotions and, in some cases, job loss. societal views that STEM careers are "men's work" and
Gender Discrimination: Women face barriers to limited access to higher education in the past.
upper-management roles due to gender bias. This Global Impact: The gender gap is even more pronounced in
structural discrimination limits women's access to developing countries, where women face additional
higher-paying leadership positions. challenges such as limited access to education, land
Lack of Diversity: Women of color experience an ownership, and decision-making rights. According to the
even wider pay gap due to the intersection of racial OECD, the worst gender gaps are found in Yemen, Mali,
and gender discrimination. This results in Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, and Sudan.
underrepresentation and unequal pay for women The gender gap is more severe in developing countries like
from marginalized racial groups in many professions. Yemen, Mali, and Afghanistan. Women face lower pay, limited
These factors collectively contribute to the persistent education, denial of land ownership, and restricted decision-
wage gap between men and women. making rights, highlighting deeper inequality in these regions.

Gender Gap Examples

It is well-known around the world that the gender gap exists. It can be seen in social settings, work atmospheres, and
almost every other aspect of life. Below are some examples of the gender gap.
Only 28% of members of the US Congress are women.
In the US, women who work full-time are paid only 83% of what men make.
Women of color experience a stronger impact from the gender gap, with Latina women only making 55 cents to
every dollar men make.
Women are more likely to work at jobs that pay less, with 14 out of the 20 lowest-paying jobs being female-dominated.
Due to earning less throughout their lives, when women retire, they typically make less than men in retirement,
pension, or retirement savings.
 INEQUALITY IN OPPORTUNITY
There are a number of different ways we can think about the gender gap. Let's talk about some of the areas where we can see
unequal outcomes between the sexes.

1. Pay Gap 2. Education

When we think about the gender gap, one of the One bit of good news is in education. In the past,
things that probably immediately comes to mind is the women were much less likely to obtain higher
pay gap, which refers to the difference in wages and education than men. But recently, that has been
salaries between men and women. On average, changing. We now see women surpassing men in
women make about 80% of what men do. There are terms of educational attainment.
also racial disparities; white women and Asian
American women, on average, make more than In fact, about 59.5% of college students are now
Hispanic, African American, or Native American women. women. But this picture has become a little bit more
It's not just pay that's unequal, though. It's also the type complicated with a curious reversal seeming to take
of jobs that women do. According to researchers at place as of 2021, with the number of women choosing
Stanford, only about 8% of executives at major to attend college increasing as the number of men
corporations are women as of 2020. Regardless of why choosing to attend college is decreasing.
this is (and there are many hypotheses), this does
indeed show a major gap between the sexes.

4. Women in the Global Economy

Women also have less access to formal financial tools,
3. Political Power like bank accounts. The United Nations found that, as of
The political sphere shows inequality between men 2018, 65% of men have a formal bank account while
and women diminishing in some ways. For example, only 58% of women do.
the United Nations reports that, globally, the number of
Sometimes there are legal obstacles as well. The UN
women who hold political office has doubled compared
reports that in some countries more wedded to
to 20 years ago. But there are still disparities.
traditional gender roles, women are legally prevented
In the US as of 2021, women make up 28% of congress. from accepting some kinds of jobs, and in some places,
This will likely increase as time goes on and more a husband can deny his wife the opportunity to work.
women enter the political realm, but it still shows a This is particularly true in the developing world as
disparity in effect. opposed to the developed world.

The Gender Gap in Today's Society

The gender gap in today's society is less than it was years ago, but it is still significant. Reports by Investopedia claim that
today in 2022, women still earn less than men for comparable work. Women still only earn around 83 cents for every
dollar that men earn. However, many think there has been a decrease in gender discrimination due to an increase in the
past decade of women in high-paying positions like CEOs.
Despite the progress that has taken place, there is still much to be done. Closing the gender gap means women are
making the same amount for equal work. It means that women will be represented in all aspects of society. Women
and girls worldwide must have equal access to education and other opportunities.

CAUSES OF THE GENDER GAP

There are a number of different explanations for the persistence of the gender gap and when it comes down to it, there
likely isn't one answer. Some explanations focus on individual choices.
For example, some suggest that women choose not to work in as demanding careers as men and, indeed, many
women choose to stay home with children, which explains the gap in career outcomes.
But other explanations focus on broader forces that are much harder to quantify. One explanation is gender
discrimination, which is the assumption that women are paid less and have fewer opportunities than men because of
outright sexism.
Stereotypes about women's abilities also play a role in these explanations. However true this explanation might have
once been, the steady increase over the past decade in female CEOs and other high-paying positions and careers
(including physicians, in which women are rapidly becoming the majority as of 2021) seems to suggest this trend is
changing.
Other relevant more structural explanations may include encouragement gaps, which can be tricky to pinpoint, since they
are firmly rooted in culture. For example, women may not be encouraged as strongly as men to engage in higher-paying
careers that have traditionally been associated with men, such as tech or business management.
In addition, there could be an encouragement gap when it comes to encouraging women to be more assertive in the
salary negotiation process. Thankfully, these encouragement gaps are easily rectified by better communication from
parents, educators, and counselors.