“Women are fun to play with, but when it comes to getting things done, they are worthless.” This was a phrase that was shared verbatim to my husband by one of his past employers. It is scenarios like this that make my skin crawl and proves that sexism in the workplace is still very much alive. The ignorance of abilities of the opposite sex is disturbing and creates a rift in organizations when these variations of skills should be capitalized on rather than seen as a disadvantage. In addition to bad behavior such as this example, another area to consider in the workplace is the ongoing inequity in pay. Sexism exists but isn’t always spoken aloud because blatant discrimination may come back to haunt the offender. But while these words may go unspoken, the pay differential speaks for itself.
According to a study compiled in 2021 for the year of 2020, women make approximately 84% of what men make (Barroso & Brown, 2021). While the gap is closing, it is nowhere near official closure. This makes me think of a scenario, when I worked at Kmart (what feels like a lifetime ago), a co-worker (Brenda) and I were discussing our current pay rate. (As we know this is a practice most employers forms upon for their own benefit.) Anyway, Brenda and I secretly shared our hourly pay rate with one another, and it was discovered that I made more than her by a nickel. She was livid about this fact and went to HR to insist on making the same amount that I did. Five cents may seem petty, but it was the principle of the matter, not the nickel itself. We held the same job title, were assigned the same tasks, had the same work ethic. This experience is how I feel about men and women doing the same job and not being paid the same. I’m not going to go as far as saying that men or women that are out there exerting significant physical work, or putting their life on the line should make the same as someone who is a receptionist at a dentist office. But what I AM saying is that if two individuals are doing the same job, they should be paid the same regardless of gender. It isn’t always just about the money; it is also the principle of the matter.
During research on this topic, I was surprised to find that there is a day called “Equal Pay Day” and this day represents the amount of additional time women would have to work to equal the amount of pay a man made the year prior (2023). This year that day falls on March 15th. One reason as to why I think this may continue to be problematic is because of something called diffusion of responsibility. A case study shared by Gruman, et. al. refers to this phrase in consideration of women experiencing an unsavory situation but not doing anything about it because they think someone else will (2017). I think it is time to acknowledge that we can’t always count on others to fight our battles for us and make a conscience effort to take a stand on issues that count. One of these is always pursuing equity among sexes in every way.
Works Cited:
Barroso, A. & Brown, A. (2021, May 25). Gender pay gap in U.S. held steady in 2020. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/
Equal Pay Day. (2023). National Today. Retrieved from https://nationaltoday.com/equal-pay-day/#:~:text=Equal%20Pay%20Day%20is%20observed,gap%20between%20men%20and%20women.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L.M. (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems, 3rd edition. SAGE Publications.
As a woman working in a male dominated field right now, I can say the sexism is still present and men do get paid more. I deliver car parts to local mechanic shops but the amount of sexism I still receive just dropping off car parts is insane. Men at my job so easily get a raise and get away with being lazy then the women that work harder than the men here have to beg to get a raise and still do not get it even when they are working harder. But my point is that women struggle to get the same respect and pay as men do. As this article states, “The gender gap in pay has remained relatively stable in the United States over the past 15 years or so. In 2020, women earned 84% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. Based on this estimate, it would take an extra 42 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2020” (Barroso & Brown, 2021). Which shows that women statistically do make less than men on average. Me and my other female coworker are making the same amount we have both been there the same amount of time, this other guy who has worked there the same amount of time also gets a 50 cent raise because he bitched about his pay. This man is not a harder worker, has gotten in trouble for talking shit, avoids deliveries and constantly bitches about his deliveries. We both found it unfair that he was able to get a 50 cent raise out of nowhere while me and my other co worker work harder then him. It just shows you that there is still sexism in the work place and men do get paid more then women.
References
Barroso, A. & Brown, A. (2021, May 25). Gender pay gap in U.S. held steady in 2020. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/