Throughout America’s history, a constant conflict for this country has been discrimination and inequality in many forms. Whether it be race, gender, religious beliefs, or personal beliefs, discrimination is always present, and it most likely is not going anywhere. Although there are many forms of inequality playing out in America at this time, many believe that there is a huge judgement between genders while in the work place. This brings the controversial idea of the “gender wage gap.” The gender wage gap, is the idea that there is an average difference between a man and a woman's combined wages or salaries, while doing the same work.  So, for example, both Johnny, male, and Lisa, female, work in an office as a secretary. Johnny makes $7.50 while Lisa only makes $6.00. While this is not an accurate salary difference, this gives an idea as to the problem people “think” we are facing. Although many researchers and statisticians have done a good job of making people believe that the gender gap is happening in America, the truth is, it really isn’t. I believe that yes there is a difference in pay between men and women, but it is not an unfair difference. I believe that this isn’t due to  any inequality or discrimination but simply due to the personal choices men and women make. Many feminist organizations and political leaders are turning to statistical evidence that may say there is a pay gap, but when taking a closer look, the reality is, there isn’t. I also think that the time being taken to protest this idea of an unfair pay gap should be used towards acknowledging and celebrate the progress that women have made over the years. These feminist groups have been making excuses as to why they are not paid as much, and fighting large companies in efforts to have equal pay as their co-workers, which is almost impossible! They should be rejoicing and making society aware of how far they have come in the world of the workplace as women. As a woman, I am automatically in the minority when it comes to the side of the argument that I am taking. I believe that women are strong, independent, and capable of almost all that males are capable of.  Although men have been proven to make more money in their fields of occupation, it does not take away from the capabilities women have and the successes they have made. 

Many feminist groups and liberal politicians believe that the gender wage gap is a problem in the united states. Every day there are marches and protests in effort to help make this “problem” more aware to the public eye. They believe that women must balance a home life and office life while continuing to get payed less than their male co-workers. Although there are many women who rise above and play huge roles in major companies and different workplaces, people still believe that women are being cut short. They have created the myth that women are payed 77 cents for every one dollar that men make. They also claim that women who have children can not get a job as easily as someone who does not have children. In a recent study done by Cornell University, “researches submitted 1,276 fake resumes for real jobs… the resumes were equivalent when it came to educational credentials and work experience, but they varied in personal details about gender and whether the candidate had children.”  (Bloomberg: What Data Analytics’ Say About Gender Inequality in the Workplace) With that being said, the applicants who were male with children and males and females without children were the most desirable. If you just read this study without taking any other information into consideration, it would definitely seem biased and discriminatory. But this study can also be easily explained as to why it makes perfect sense along with the many other theories that come with this controversial subject. Although these groups, political leaders, and the internet can make it very believable that there is a discrimination in pay between men and women, it just isn’t true. 

When gender gap “believers” argue their opinion, they present us with many statistics that are very convincing when just read, and typically overlooked without any question. When taking a closer look as to what makes up this statistic, it really can make one question whether or not the idea of the gender gap really is true. All who indorse this myth are changing the statistics in a way that seems very convincing, especially to the people it claims to “affect”. This statistic does not take into consideration many personal choices that a majority of women make that influence their pay. Many have heard the idea that women only make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, yet how they achieve this number is very misleading to the public. The 23 cents pay gap is just the average earnings of all men and all women working full-time jobs. Differences in occupations, positions, education, years of experience in the field, and hours worked per week are just some of the factors that are not taken into consideration when the 77 cents statistic is dropped. “If we want to have a fruitful discussion about a gender wage gap, we should have it after the comparison is adjusted for those factors.” (Forbes: Don’t Buy into the Gender Pay Gap Myth) When obtaining the pay gap, statisticians do not take many of these game changing factors into consideration. Some of these factors include: Difference in education, age, experience, age, job title, where you work, and your location. Some researchers have taking those into consideration when trying to compile a new statistic, and the change in gap amount is quite significant. It goes from 77 cents for every dollar a male makes, a whole quarter less then male employees, to about 95 cents for every dollar a male worker makes. The difference is extremely drastic, and it creates a more reasonable difference. If this statistic was presented as publicly as the other, there would be way less controversy.

If one is to break this argument down word for word, then pay for “the same work” must be discussed. We see many doctors daily that are of both genders. As most people know, the profession of a doctor is typically a high paying job whether you are male or female. Many of these feminine activist groups like to argue that women doctors are still being paid less than their rivaling male doctor co-workers. When looking at this with a surface level approach, it might look as though, yes, female doctors are being paid less. However, when taking a closer look, women are choosing lower paying specialties such as pediatrics rather than specialties like anesthesiology, where men are seen to be more likely to pursue this profession. If the pay gap were so true, and employers would be able to pay “Lisa” 10 dollars an hour while they were paying “Johnny” 14 dollars an hour, a whole four dollars difference an hour that could add up tremendously, then why wouldn’t they strive to have more female workers and get rid of their male employees. Wages one of a company’s biggest expenses, so initially, cutting male employees could help to save business owners and CEO’s a few dollars come pay day. When looking at other career majors that both men and women represent, we can look at two different statistics. One being the median national pay, and the other being the median national controlled pay. When we are shown the 77 cent difference between men and women’s average pay, they are using the median national pay. This could be the so to speak, “uncontrolled pay”. The difference in the controlled pay, is the fact that things such as job choice, experience, and company type is taken into consideration. It allows a closer comparison or a more equal comparison to be made between the two genders. When these things are being used to determine pay, it becomes a more equal process whereas someone is now being paid for their qualifications and abilities versus what some would argue a more sexist gender based outlook that is being used to determine their pay. So when taking these different types ways to look at the gender gap, we are given better and more clear results. For example, the national median starting pay for women is 93% of what men make. Although it is not the ideal 100% that many people expect to see, it is pretty close. Now for the national median pay, when not taking outside factors, this is where we see that women are making 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. When taking the outside factors into consideration as they should be, we see that women actually make 98% of the pay that a typical male worker makes.  This is the number that should be plastered everywhere. Many women are degrading their abilities and in my opinion supporting the idea that they are lesser when they are indeed not. We throw around the 77 cents in a degrading and humiliating way questioning our worth as a whole when really, on average women are actually making almost exactly what men are. We could be using the same time and energy to be celebrating the fact that we work hard enough to basically be equal. This is something that women have been working towards for decades.

Regardless of what you believe the actual pay gap is, there are many choices that women make that in the end affect their pay. Although it has been proven that women are making 98 cent to the dollar of a man compared to 77 cents, there still is a difference and it is still not 100%. When it comes to choosing jobs or pursuing certain career fields, men are way more likely to choose jobs that are far more dangerous than the jobs that women are more likely to pursue. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has assembled a list with the top 10 most dangerous jobs, and men are the leading gender of employees for each one of the jobs. One might question, what does this have to do with pay? With danger comes liability, and with liability comes insurance, benefits, and – higher pay. For instance, one of the jobs listed is an aircraft pilot or engineer. This is one of the most dangerous jobs in the united states and it is also male dominated. They make an average of almost $149,000 a year. As for a female-dominated occupation such as teaching, they have an average salary of about $56,000. While these are two completely different occupational fields, one is dominated by women while the other is dominated by males. You can see the distinct difference in not only the pay but also the level of danger that is assumed for each job. As an airplane pilot, you’re working with heavy objects, dangerous fumes, crazy electrical work and so much more.  All of these things become risky while on the job site. Not to take away from being a school teacher, for we would be nowhere without them, they don’t face as many dangerous aspects. Not only do men choose to work more hazardous jobs, they also chose to pursue areas of jobs that are of higher stress. Many men and women both follow jobs in the medical field, but it has been observed that men tend to move up to more specialized areas of work such as surgery while women tend to fulfill more nursing positions or clerical work. This is all by choice. Women have certain qualities that make them better suited for the jobs they choose as do men. With higher stress and more specialized work, the more money you typically get paid. A brain surgeon will surpass a nurse’s pay tremendously. 

Some of the highest paying jobs are also male-conquered. “Only 7% of female professionals were employed in the relatively high paying computer and 

engineering fields compared to 38% of male professionals.” Per the White House Report (CBS Money Watch). Many of the recorded highest paying jobs are different occupations in the engineering field. According to the top male dominated jobs, engineering happens to fall in that category. Unfortunately, there is no denying that there are more women in lower paying fields such as social work and education. These lower paying fields aren’t just lower paying for women but also for men. If a man were to choose to be a teacher rather that an aerospace engineer for example, he’d be looking at a major pay cut. The fact is, although it is a lower paying job for either gender, it is just dominated by females. There isn’t a set reason as to why women choose fields that tend to be lower paying, but it Is scientifically proven that a man’s mindset is focused more on potential income where women are more focused on things such as enjoying their career, helping others, and creating a family life.  It is also statistically proven that men are more likely to work jobs that require longer hours and/or working on the weekends. This could be caused by many things, such as the fact that women typically work 9-5 jobs where as men work jobs such as power companies that often work out of town and start earlier and end later than most jobs. In the article retrieved from CBS News, the author stated “The average fill-time working man works 6 hours per week, or 15 percent longer than the average fulltime working woman.” (CBS News) When someone works more hours, it speaks for itself when they finally get paid.

Generally speaking, women aren’t typically as likely to negotiate; We are told what to do, and we do it well. We don’t have as aggressive of personalities as men typically do. This results to things such as a pay raise. Men are more likely to sit with their bosses and discuss the possibility of a higher pay or a promotion while women might fear the repercussions, such as demotion or even being fired. Although the reality of the gender wage gap is not discriminatory or sexist, there are things that fall under each of those categories that just happen naturally in the workplace. When men do things such as discuss salary, it is seen as making a step in their career or showing interest in becoming better. Due to the stereotype that women have been given over time, they are looked at as ungrateful when asking for a higher pay. This also leads to why women are less likely to ask for raises and promotions. One cannot blame companies or even the government for a man’s natural behavior. 

A majority of society has spent so much time protesting the idea that women have been cut short in the workplace and that men are given the upper hand. They believe that men are being paid more for the same work and can excel easier than women. What they aren’t making aware, but possibly should be, is that women have made steady progress when it comes to pay equality since as early as the 1970’s. “In 1970, the median usual earnings for women working full-time was only 62.1 percent of those for men; by 2007, the wage gap had shrunk from 37.9 to just 21.5 percent.” (Analysis of Reasons for the Disparity in Wages Between Men and Women 2) This is a huge difference and something that women should be proud of. also, if the Department of Labor has been able to make this much of gain over the past 37 years, then there is obviously more progression to come. 

Many women’s advocacy groups believe that the efforts of society are shaping women to reach for less and that the choices women are making are not choices of their own. When women decide to stay home and be with your children or raise a family, specialize in things such as pediatric care that isn’t paid as much as cardiologists, or work less hours than men, it is believed that they make these decisions due to “Powerful sexist stereotypes steer women and men toward different education, training, and career paths, and family roles.” (National Organization for Women) These are the types of things that society should help us choose lead us towards. These are things that can essentially alter our happiness. When on the pursuit of happiness, it can be very likely that the things that make women happier are different to the things that make men happy. 

Although men and women aren’t currently being paid the same in the united states, before blaming it on discrimination and sexism, look deeper into the factual evidence as to why this is. Men pursue different things than women do. Male and females also carry different characteristics both physically and mentally that end up having an effect on their overall pay. Women all over the world are following this so called feminist propaganda. If women were only aware of the lack of discrimination they are facing in the workplace compared to women of the 1950’-60’s, they would have something to really be thankful for. So, despite all the hype of this terrible gender wage gap women are suffering from in America, men and women are capable of making choices throughout their careers that will in the end shape or even choose their pay. It is important to know what kind of potential future you are creating for your career based on the educational path that you are taking.

 