Random Things I Wrote

Terminating the Race and Gender Wage Gap

Below is a persuasive research paper that I wrote for my English class. This is the usual type of writing I'll be posting but I am quite proud of my writing in this piece. I also believe everyone should be informed on this topic because it is so prevalent today.

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     If the wage gap continues, an astounding number of families led by single mothers, minority parents, and members of the LGBTQ+ community will continue to live below the poverty line. The gender and racial wage gaps have been around since the beginnings of civilization. The issues stem from the country's history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and unequal rights. Even today there is severe discrimination in employment such as under-representation in senior positions and over-representation in low-paying jobs. Over the past few years, the effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic have increased the wage gap significantly. More women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community have lost their jobs since the pandemic began than white men. Not only do these issues affect the general population, but there is also significant under-representation in political positions. Race and gender equality is a pinnacle concept that American society is not so desperately trying to achieve.

A substantial cause of the wage gap in the United States today is the historical events that preceded. The gender wage gap has been around for ages but initially arose as a political issue in the 1860s. Women such as Susan B. Anthony or Elizabeth Cady Stanton were activists that fought for their rights "who made a case for bridging the wage gap in their newspaper, The Revolution, and in speeches such as 'The Power of the Ballot to Bring Women Equal Pay for Equal Work'" (Daugherty). These women, and many others after them, have made an impact on the gender wage gap even though "gender-based discrimination has been illegal since 1963 but is still a frequent, widespread practice--particularly for women of color" (Bleiweis). On many occasions, the United States government has made a law in an attempt to charm the citizens yet they rarely enforce said legislations. During the 1940s, a Republican Congress member from New York named Winifred Stanley presented the Prohibiting Discrimination in Pay on Account of Sex bill. The bill was to amend all unfair labor practices against women. Her bill never advanced through Congress (Daugherty). The gender wage gap relates to the disparities between men and women doing the same work but there is also a racial wage gap (Daugherty). During the 20th century, an increase in racial wealth disparities was seen within housing, education, and wage rates. This was due to racial minorities gaining less support from government programs (Mollenkamp). During the civil rights era, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was introduced and it "sought to curb discrimination on the basis of 'race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.' One section of that act, Title VII, prohibited racial wage discrimination. The Lyndon B. Johnson administration also launched affirmative action programs to undo some of the racial inequality in the country" (Mollenkamp). Despite these efforts to abolish the wage gap, the racial wealth gap in America has exponentially increased since the civil rights era.

In spite of the advances made throughout history, there is still a substantial gender and race wage gap in the United States. Although America is not the only country that discriminates against its employees, it has been found that foreign-owned companies are less likely to have a significant gender-based pay gap. "The expectation that gender pay gaps would be smaller in foreign-owned firms is supported by trade theory, which posits that the ability of foreign-owned firms to engage in gender-based pay discrimination is reduced" (Magda and Sałach). Domestic companies actually favor the employment of men in an attempt to reward rather than women (Magda and Sałach). It has been found that almost all firms around the world are managed by men. Only about 19% of companies are run by female managers. (Ortiz-Ospina and Roser).