Some people argue that the wage gap is justified and it is simply the choice of the women that she wants to earn less. In reality what woman would want to make less money? The gender wage gap is not justified and it is just another form of discrimination not any different than a person earning less because of their race.
June O’Neill argues that the gender wage gap occurs because woman choose occupations that pay less and show less attachment to their jobs. She also argues that women earn less money annually because they are more likely to hold part time jobs. The one thing that she does not account for is why women often show these trends. The answer to this question is that women often times cannot show as much commitment to their jobs because they are responsible for the gender roles that have been set by society.
Women are the ones that are responsible for the home and raising children which often times leaves less time to focus on their career. The gender roles that society sets make it this way. Men are very rarely responsible for staying home when the child is sick they are less likely to play an active role in their children’s lives and this is because it is what women are expected to do, it is not always their choice. Once children are born men actually show an increase in work time, while on the other hand women’s work time is decreased. Hilary Lips points out that because of the home responsibility women are also often times less likely to earn extras like overtime and bonuses because of their household responsibilities. This in turn makes the gender wage gap even larger and these things are often times not counted in the research done, which makes the gender wage gap look smaller than what it actually is.
June O’Neill second justification for the gender wage gap is that women often time choose careers that on average make less money annually than the careers that men choose. Research shows that women are often times in career fields that are dominantly female. This again goes back to the fact that women have to choose careers that fit in with their other household responsibilities. This is not saying that women do not want more demanding jobs but they have to take into account their household responsibilities. Once again these household responsibilities are gender role standards that are set by society and most women accept them because it is how they have been raised and is what they know to be the “social norm.”
The gender wage gap issue goes back to the same issue that we have discussed time and time again in this course. Inequality between men and women is based simply on their gender. Women are always going to earn less money annually compared to men because of the social norms and gender roles that society accepts as normal. Until men and women equally share roles within the home that are traditionally female oriented women will still not have time to take more demanding jobs and work more hours which in turn will result in increase in income. Contrary to what June O’Neill says this is not always a choice that women make but more often it is simply a responsibility that society has put on her because of her gender, it has nothing to due with her drive and dedication to her career. The pay gap is simply another indicator of inequality based on gender and is another way that women are discriminated against. Until this inequality between men and women is resolved it is likely that they pay gap will not decrease and that women will continue to face another form of inequality.