Gender pay gap and human rights essay examples

16 December 12

Paragraph 1 (Introduction)

Thesis: Inequality in pay and violation of human rights against women are among the most prevalent practices in employment.
Paragraph 2: unequal pay remain far too common
– The Women who are working part time at the present earn about 38. 4% less than what men doing the same amount of work earn.
– For full-time workers, the gap is 17. 2 per cent.
– Women working more than 60 hours per week earn only 78. 3% of what men in the same time category earn.

Paragraph 3: Protection against the gender-based discrimination touches all employment aspects

– In practice, the scenario is quite the opposite and shocking
– Employers are averse to accept women occupying positions at senior levels in organization
– The beliefs and attitudes about gender could be rooted in socio-cultural backgrounds

Paragraph 4: The practice of discrimination in excluding qualified women from jobs they deserve is not justified on any ground

– Engineering, automobiles, heavy vehicles- driving jobs, aerospace manufacturing and jobs are considered exclusive to men
– Qualified female employees are not promoted to senior positions in organizations

Paragraph 5: Discrimination in employment was illegalized by “ Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”

– makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace
– The Universal Declaration of Human Rights are specific Articles that stress equal rights for women

Paragraph 6 (Conclusion and Recommendations):

– The primary task to be accomplished is to create awareness in society about the problem of gender discrimination and violation of human rights
– Growth and development of society and nation will be directly proportional to equality and respect of women in workplaces
– There should be stricter measures against employers responsible for repeated offences of discriminating against women
– Changing the attitude and behavior of employers and male employees within workplaces is equally important.
– The belief that females are weaker sex must be gotten rid of at all costs.

THE ESSAY (WRITTEN BY CUSTOMER WITH SMALL AMENDMENTS MADE ON IT BY WRITER)

Gender discrimination has been prevalent and in practice in different forms and styles. “ Inequality in pay and violation of human rights are among the most prevalent practices in employment.” Iberiyenari (n, d) states:
In the United States in 1995, the Glass Ceiling Commission, a government funded group, stated: “ over half of all masters degrees are now awarded to women, yet 95% of senior level managers of the top fortune 1000 industrial and 500 service companies are men. Women are being discriminated against both with respect to level of occupation and salary”.
According to Jenny Watson, the new chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), ” some issues, like unequal pay and sexual harassment, remain far too common”. (Verkaik. 2005). There are many articles citing this practice. Verkaik (2005), the Legal affairs Correspondent, UK, further mentions, “ Women working part time today earn nearly 38. 4 per cent less than men performing equivalent work. In 1975 the figure was 42 per cent. For full-time workers the gap is 17. 2 per cent compared to 42 per cent 30 years ago.” The article in Safety. com confirms the point and states, “ The Census Bureau reported that as of 2002, a woman’s average salary was just 77% of the average salary for a man.” Psych Central Editor (2009) drives the point home by this statement, “ The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cites women working 41 to 44 hours per week earn 84. 6% of what men working similar hours earn. It gets worse as women work longer hours — women working more than 60 hours per week earn only 78. 3% of what men in the same time category earn.” Facts and figures are self explanatory and based on actual observations.
Iberiyenari (n, d) further points out that, “ Protection against gender based discrimination extends to all aspects of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, pensions, conditions of employment and promotions.” But, in practice, the scenario is quite the opposite and shocking. Employers are averse to accept women occupying positions at senior levels in organization. Philosophy behind such thinking and psychology behind this attitude is beyond comprehension. Employers’ behavior, based on false notions and deep rooted bias against ‘ women at work’, defies logic. The beliefs and attitudes about gender could be rooted in socio-cultural backgrounds and an employer can have his/her own ideas about gender, but decisions related to employment must not be influenced by individual beliefs. “ Women with associate degrees earn approximately 75 percent of what men with associate degrees earn.” (DeNavasWalt, Proctor, and Smith 2011).
The practice of discrimination in excluding qualified women from jobs they deserve is not justified on any consideration. Being denied a job on the basis of gender, causes frustration to qualified female candidates. Fact Sheet (IWPR #C350 September 2012) published by The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), mentions that, “ The ratio of women’s and men’s median annual earnings was 77. 0 for full-time/year-round workers in 2011, essentially unchanged from 77. 4 in 2010” Discrimination in Job is the act of disqualifying women candidate on grounds of gender. Certain jobs are considered specific to male domain. Women are not recruited even if they satisfy job requirements. Engineering, automobiles, heavy vehicles- driving jobs, aerospace manufacturing and such other professions are considered exclusive to men. Qualified female employees are not promoted to senior positions in organizations.
“ Race and sex discrimination in employment, covering recruitment, pay and compensation, training and promotion, was made illegal by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” (Cited by Hegewisch, Deitch, and Murphy (2011). makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. Code of Federal Regulations defines ‘ Pay And Benefits as follows:
It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee in the payment of wages or employee benefits on the bases of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Employee benefits include sick and vacation leave, insurance, access to overtime as well as overtime pay, and retirement programs. For example, an employer many not pay Hispanic workers less than African-American workers because of their national origin, and men and women in the same workplace must be given equal pay for equal work.
Cited in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are specific Articles that stress equal rights for women. Article 2 of the declaration specifically negates practice of discrimination on any consideration: “ Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” Article 23 is related to choice of work, environment in workplace and equality of pay. The Article mentions that:
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against
unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration
ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human
dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social
protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights is aimed at establishing equity and equality among people of the world. Countries of the world follow this code for planning their labor and employment policies and ensuring equal opportunity to people. The essence of this declaration is to create an environment of peaceful co-existence for global community and to provide safety and security against exploitation on any grounds.

DISCUSSION

The primary task to be accomplished is to create awareness in society about this crucial problem. Women outnumber men in population. Besides, growth and development of society and nation will be directly proportional to equality and respect of women in workplaces. Imposing penalties on erring employers and offering compensation to women employees are fair measures of justice. However, there should be stricter measures against employers responsible for repeated offences. Punishments for such repeated offences should be imprisonment for those accountable for such offences. It should act as exemplary punishment to ‘ thick skinned’ employers or organizations. Such punishment is justified considering ‘ indecent, unfair, discriminating and insulting’ behavior that results in undue stress and trauma to victims. Changing the attitude and behavior of employers and male employees within workplaces is equally important.
The problem of Gender Discrimination in pay has these dimensions: Employer or Employer organization, Women employees, Male co-workers, Government Laws, Helpful organizations, Courts of justice and Media. Women employees and employers are directly involved in acts of gender discrimination. Other dimensions are added after injustice is reported. It is, in fact, a problem related to morality, ethics and psychology of perpetrators of unjust acts and reaction of suffering victims. Employers’ bias against women employees is based on false beliefs and attitudes rooted in social and cultural backgrounds. Male domination has been prevalent since ages in the history of mankind. Somehow, men cannot acknowledge equality of women. Their false and conceited notions are mostly biologically and sexually oriented. The belief that females are weaker sex, is to be pried out and gotten rid of.

Works Cited

Code of Federal Regulations. Title 29 – Labor Volume: 4 Date: 2011-07-01
Original Date: 2011-07-01Title: PART 1604 – GUIDELINES ON DISCRIMINATION
BECAUSE OF SEX Context: Title 29 – Labor. Subtitle B – Regulations Relating
COMMISSION.
DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, U. S. Census
Bureau, Current Population Reports, P60-239, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2011.
Hegewisch A. and Edwards A.(September 2012). Institute for Women’s Policies
Research. (September, 2012). IWPR #C350.-
The Gender Wage Gap: 2011.
discrimination
Iberiyenari L. (n. d) Gender Discrimination in the Work Place – The Lawyers
Chronicle: Are Women Sufficiently Protected?
thelawyerschronicle. com ›
IWPR #C350 September 2012. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR)
The Gender Wage Gap: 2011.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights..
Verkaik R (2005). Thirty years on, women still face discrimination in the workplace
wiscrimination-in-the-wor..