Equal Pay

Equal pay refers to remuneration parity for men and women who do equivalent work. It is one aspect of gender equality in the labor market. The principle of [Page 491]equal pay is legally recognized and enforced by most modern states. The rationale to support equal pay rests in the neoliberal formulation of equal rights, according to which nothing should exclude women from the general rights and obligations of citizenship.

The pay gap between men and women is closely linked with and depends upon other aspects of labor market inequalities like horizontal and vertical segregation of occupations.

The vertical segregation refers to the specialization of women in certain professions, which are associated with “feminine” skills derived from caretaking and nurturing. These occupations pay less than jobs traditionally associated with men's work, and are considered less valuable and prestigious. Occupations like education, health, secretarial work, and administrative assistance are paid less than technology, engineering, architecture, or finance jobs where men are usually dominant. Does it mean that the pay gap decreases when women enter male-dominated occupations? Evidence shows that as women entered some of the formerly male-dominated occupations en masse, the pay rates declined because of the increase in work force supply.

Occupational segregation, and the pay gap, is closely linked to the division of labor in households where women are traditionally ascribed domestic and caretaking duties. The burden of family care determines why women more often than men take part-time jobs that provide them with a lower income, but which also leaves them more time to perform unpaid housework. At the same time, the gender pay gap corresponds to horizontal segregation, characterized by the “glass ceiling.” This barrier to advancement is why the better paid, leadership positions in companies are occupied predominantly by white men. Women tend to fill positions with lower hierarchical leverage and income. However, the pay gap is lower in places with a tradition of collective bargaining and powerful trade unions. Pay scales are also more likely to be lower in public sectors than in the private ones, and in situations where job classification systems are used for determining salary minimums.

Who is Paid Less?

Transcript

• And women all over this country who work hard every day but earn less than men in similar jobs, and believe me, when we’re paid less we know.

It is essential to state that the differences in pay between the two genders are corroborated by variations within groups of women, including by age, education, civil status, work experience, priorities, and life choices. The most evident differences appear when comparing cohorts of women. It is evident that the older a woman, the lower her wages, when compared to younger women. This indicates that the gender pay gap is narrowing and that welfare policies have produced expected results by progressively integrating women into the labor market.

At the same time, marriage and motherhood require women to spend more time in the household, negatively impacting the wages from paid labor. Education level is a predictor of the gender gap: more educated women have better possibilities of higher wages. It is interesting to note that the pay among racial or ethnic minorities and majority is even higher than the inert-gender pay gap. Consequently, if taking into account the two gaps, it is evident that minority women are the ones who carry the heavier burdens of a pay gap.

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