History of Wage and Gender Disparity in America
History of Wage and Gender Disparity in America
Muhannad Kateeb
SOC 402 Contemporary Social
Ashford University
Dana Rock
6/27/11
History of Wage and Gender Disparity in America The idea that women earn less than men in the work place is no longer a subject for debate. Study after study has shown that women earn less than their male counterparts. In 1998, for every dollar a man makes, a woman earns .73 cents (CNN, 2000). Since then it has gotten better but not by much. As of 2010 women earned .79 cents to every dollar earned by men. The gender wage gap is a statistical indicator used to show the status of women 's earnings relative to men 's. This nation, unfortunately, has a history of making gender inequality legal. Laws pass early in the 20th century showed that the view that many in the country did not believe that women could not do the same amount of work that men did. This gave way to wage disparity. One of the first shows of making gender finical disparity legal was in 1908. In 1908 the US Supreme Court found in favor of the state of Oregon in Muller verses Oregon (Cornell, n.d.). This ruling allowed that the state could limit women’s workdays to no more than ten hours per day. It meant that women could not work as many hours as men in the same jobs. It in many ways made the point to state that women were not as able to perform equal to men. It attempted to show that they were somehow weaker and needed to be protected from over working (Cornell, n.d). This is one of the first instances of the legalization of a gender wage gap.
Another Supreme Court ruling only made things worse for gender equality. In 1924 the Supreme Court found in favor of the state of New York in the case of Radice verses New York (FindLaw, n.d.). The plaintiff in the case was found guilty of violating a law in New York that did allow women over the age of sixteen from working waitress jobs for more than fifty hours per week. The law also stated that they could not work
Muhannad Kateeb
SOC 402 Contemporary Social
Ashford University
Dana Rock
6/27/11
History of Wage and Gender Disparity in America The idea that women earn less than men in the work place is no longer a subject for debate. Study after study has shown that women earn less than their male counterparts. In 1998, for every dollar a man makes, a woman earns .73 cents (CNN, 2000). Since then it has gotten better but not by much. As of 2010 women earned .79 cents to every dollar earned by men. The gender wage gap is a statistical indicator used to show the status of women 's earnings relative to men 's. This nation, unfortunately, has a history of making gender inequality legal. Laws pass early in the 20th century showed that the view that many in the country did not believe that women could not do the same amount of work that men did. This gave way to wage disparity. One of the first shows of making gender finical disparity legal was in 1908. In 1908 the US Supreme Court found in favor of the state of Oregon in Muller verses Oregon (Cornell, n.d.). This ruling allowed that the state could limit women’s workdays to no more than ten hours per day. It meant that women could not work as many hours as men in the same jobs. It in many ways made the point to state that women were not as able to perform equal to men. It attempted to show that they were somehow weaker and needed to be protected from over working (Cornell, n.d). This is one of the first instances of the legalization of a gender wage gap.
Another Supreme Court ruling only made things worse for gender equality. In 1924 the Supreme Court found in favor of the state of New York in the case of Radice verses New York (FindLaw, n.d.). The plaintiff in the case was found guilty of violating a law in New York that did allow women over the age of sixteen from working waitress jobs for more than fifty hours per week. The law also stated that they could not work
References: "A condition we can ill afford": Debating the Equal Pay Act of 1963. (n.d.). History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web. Retrieved July 8, 2011, from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6196/ CNN FindLaw | Cases and Codes. (n.d.). FindLaw: Cases and Codes. Retrieved July 11, 2011, from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=452&invol=161 FindLaw | Cases and Codes Flaherty, C. (2006, February 17). MSU News Service - Equal-pay laws first drop women 's employment, then increase earnings. Montana State University. Retrieved July 8, 2011, from http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=3392 Greenhouse, L Muller v. Oregon. (n.d.). LII | Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. Retrieved July 8, 2011, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0208_0412_ZS.html Pay Equity Information Pickert, K. (2009, January 29). Lilly Ledbetter - TIME. Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1874954,00.html Stolberg, S Supplee, M., & Wilson, E. (n.d.). Session 1: The Importance of WomenÂ’s History. Welcome to the North Carolina Museum of History. Retrieved July 8, 2011, from http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/workshops/womenshistory/SESSION1.html News & World Report Velasquez, M. (1981, July 5). Comparable Pay in San Jose. BUSINESS ETHICS: CONCEPTS AND CASES. Retrieved July 11, 2011, from wps.prenhall.com/hss_velasquez_busethics_6/38/9874/2527980.cw/index.html Weir, M., Orloff, A