The gender age gap is one if the contentious issues in the labor force of the united states. There are many arguments and counter arguments regarding why there is a wagegap, and how it came to be in the united states. There have been arguments that the aspect of the wage gap stems from individual choices which people make and therefore affect how they will earn in their careers. Kirti Olson, who is a professor of philosophy at the Boldwen College who categorically supported this claim by denoting that the differences which are witnessed in the wage gaps are almost entirely based on the individual choices of the female and male workers. She then continues to comment that the choices which men and women make are thereby similar and reflect their preferences in the work force. This is an indication that the reason for the occurrence of the wage gaps is primarily an individual affair and therefore contributes on how the both genders will earn working the same job for the same hours.
The contribution of the wage gap in the lives of both genders is something which has become the center of debates. This is essential because feminist champions argues that the society construes men and women on the jobs which they will choose later in their lives which is erroneous. Olson argues that stereotypes do not inform the decisions and choices which people will make with regards to the jobs which they will take on later in life. This is essential because both boys and girls are brought up to fit in a socially construed gender aspect which will determine the kind of jobs they will affiliate themselves in the future, but the choices which they make are not based on them. In the current situation, the aspect of gender plays a minimal role in jobs which both men and women will choose in their lives. Many women are indulging in previously male dominated jobs which make them earn the same as men. In this case, it determinable that gender does not contribute in any way of the matters of wage gap according to Olson.
However, Rosin Hannah, who is a founder of the Double X and a co-host of the NPR’s Invisibilia denotes that the understanding that men and women earn differently working for the same hours, on a similar job is not true. This is because she believes that statistics do not indicate that the common narrative of women earning 77 cents to every dollar cannot be corroborated by any evidence in the workforce. This means that it is not something which applies to all aspects of the earning depending on the number of hours and what can be defined as a normal workday. Therefore, it determinable that it is fallacious to claim that men earn more than women in all areas of the labor force. This is because one might be making judgements based on the situation where men are working 40 hours while women are working 35 hours.
She denotes that education and experience do not contribute in anyway to the determination of the wage gaps since many women have indulged in education and have been gaining experience since the 1980s. However, there are subtle differences in occupation and industry where women tend chose certain jobs over the others. This makes those jobs which are chosen by men are more well-paying than those which women congregate in. Therefore there is a consensus between Olson and Rosin that the decision which men and women make regarding job choices affect the earnings which they will have to their jobs. In the 2017 workforce, it is determinable that women are still concentrating on most of the jobs which are considered feminine and earn less compared to the extraneous one’s favored by men. Men tend to undertake jobs which have higher pay package, something which women shy off because of the strenuous activity of winning the jobs. However, it is determinable that women are breaking away from these inferiority and challenging men in the seemingly male dominated areas. Therefore, women are bridging this gap with the aid of the states to ensure equality and non-gender discrimination in the labor force.
References
Olson, K. (2012). our choices, our wage gap? Philosophical Topics, 40(1), 45-61.
Rosin, H. (2013). The Gender Wage Gap Lie. Slate: Doublex; What women really think. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/08/gender_pay_gap_the_familiar_line_that_women_make_77_cents_to_every_man_s.html
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