Sexism in the Workplace

Sexism in the Workplace

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Who Really Makes More and Gets the Promotion? |

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Sexism in the workplace is a very vague subject. There are many different categories that sexism can fall into. My goal is to look at the differences between men and women in the workplace in relation to salaries that they have as well as which sex is more likely to get promoted and hold higher titles over the other. There has always been controversy about this topic with the majority of people believing that men both earn more than women and also men are more likely to be promoted over women. Hopefully, within this paper, I will be able to shed some light onto this topic.

In 1963 the Equal Pay Act was instated under the direction of President Kennedy as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. This Act requires that both men and women within the workplace are given equal pay for equal work. This does not necessarily mean that men and women with the same job title will earn the same amount of pay. What is means is that jobs that entail the same tasks for both men and women should have the same salary for both parties. This Act classifies “pay” as salaries, overtime pay, bonuses, stock option, insurance, vacation and holiday pay, any allowances (i.e. gas allowance), hotel accommodations, other travel expenses and benefits. This ensures that the employer cannot manipulate the numbers so that the salaries are the same however one sex may earn more in supplemental income than the other. There are some stipulations regarding the Equal Pay Act. If the reason why there is a difference in pay between men and women performing the same tasks, and the difference is based on either a merit or a seniority system, then it is not a violation of the Equal Pay Act.

In a recent survey done by the FDCH Regulatory Intelligence, it was discovered that women make approximately $0.77 for every $1.00 that men make. This does not seem like that large of a gap but when you...