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Since the blooming of feminism in the 90’s most business managers and owners have heard that woman is treated unfairly in the workplace. They are not paid as well, are given domestic type roles and have a lot more struggles than men when balancing their work and home life. We might wonder if this is true and in all cases or is it just fluff of a movement gone by. A study conducted by the American Association of University Woman found that even a college degree doesn’t narrow the gap on pay differences between men and woman. After a year of college woman earn 80% of what men earn. As time goes on the gap in this pay widens. The worst state was Louisiana at 64% of the pay for male while the best state was West Virginia with 89% of pay for males. The problem is that the pay disparity is consistent across nearly every industry and every field. The only place where there is a difference is in engineering where woman and men appear to be paid the same. Thus the disparity can only be caused by the perception of the female gender. Even though women do earn more with an advanced degree it is found that they still lack the same pay as men. For example, the average male physician makes around $94,000 per year while the average female physician makes $69,000 per year. That represents a 73% of male earnings. The perception that many business owners and managers still have is that woman don’t have the responsibility to pay for families, require more time off for child rearing and get more involved in workplace “drama” than men. In the past men did have the added burden of supporting a whole family with the woman’s income being contributory. Things have now changed with high divorce rates leaving woman responsible for the financial and emotional care of children. Furthermore, women are also highly engaged in fields that are related to service. Service jobs might include food & beverage, waitress, nurse, social worker, etc. Most of these jobs do not earn high pay. As time goes on women begin to shed their own stereotypes and move into non traditional fields. Woman can be anything from military pilots to construction workers. Organizations should consider the differences in pay between men and woman. The differences could lead to a perception that the employer does not care about their needs and is discriminating against an entire gender. This discrimination could cost the company later if it is widespread and severe. Ensuring equal opportunity give the employer more opportunity to hire the best candidates for the position; despite their sex. Murad Ali, a two-time published author, writes articles and offers advertisement space for businesses. Visit http://www.thenewbusinessworld.blogspot.com
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discrimination, gender issues, women workers,
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