After Doublethinking For What Felt Like Ages, Here’s One Take on the Gender Wage Gap
Understanding the causes and factors behind the gender wage gap may not be a science, per se, but it is certainly essential in understanding the inequities and prejudices that women in science are forced to face.
It has been so commonly believed that in the workplace, men and women are given significantly different base pay even if they have equal qualifications. While unfortunately, there are probably many, many instances of that taking place in the workplace, a key reason for differences in pay can be seen much later in one’s career. And that is the motherhood fee, also known as the motherhood penalty.
There has been a persistent stigma that women should be mostly responsible for their children, and men should merely play roles as providers. But this is harmful to the fathers that want to play active roles in their child’s life and the mothers that want to commit to their careers and excel there. In fact, the Pew Research Center finds that 70% of Americans said that men with young children should be working full-time, but only 16% said the same for women with young children. It is very telling of the societal belief that women are meant to be caretakers, and men are meant to be providers.
As heroes fated to misery say, “It can’t get any worse from here.” And as they always find out the hard way, oh it certainly can.
This not only harms parents, with regards to their personal life, but it also affects their careers. Microaggressions lead to women being seen as “less reliable” by their own employers. This means they are less likely to get promotions and raises. In the words of Pam Cohen, chief research and analytics officer at the Mom Project (a “career-resource platform for working mothers”), “While the term is based on bias, and stereotypical views of mothers, it has a real impact on wages, pay equity, hiring, considerations for promotions and advancement, and inclusion in the workplace”.
A study done by Harvard described in an article by Fortune describes a similar analysis. It states that hiring managers are less likely to hire women with children than women with no children. The motherhood fee has implications, and it is hard to find a piece of legislation that can fix our antiquated societal stigmas and deeply-rooted beliefs.
It is hard to find something that can cure the chore gap. It is hard to find something that can cure internalized misogyny. It is hard to find something that can unify so many people. But we have to accept our faults, pick up the pieces, and work to forge a path for future generations. Good points are being made across the board by all. Some make good points on the fact that base pay tends to be equal when comparing single men and women. Others make very good points on the fact that there is a stigma that needs to be paid attention to. But there are faults on all sides.
It makes me wonder if young women should really be the only face of the movement. Obviously, the women of today want to spark change, and this is going to make a difference (hopefully). But women with children could really make a difference in this movement, with their deeply personal experience in dealing with stigmas surrounding them.
Quite frankly, I think we need to consider the idea that the current representatives of feminism should not be the only ones. Women with no children should not be the only people at the forefront of feminism, women with children should also be present. Sadly, they oftentimes choose not to as they are satisfied with their position in life. But today’s women with no children are concerned that once they do indeed build a family, they will face the brunt of the consequences.
Feminism is simple to define. But it has a nuance that everyone should take the time to understand because a woman should not be respected because she is someone’s wife, daughter, or sister. It should be because she is a woman. She is a human being who deserves and demands respect. And that’s it. That’s the only conversation someone needs to hear to understand what feminism is.
Because it’s not just about paying the bills or passing laws, it is also about how we are treated in society. Because society is just a group of people who have common opinions but are never able to come together to discuss them because they always feel like something is holding them back. And for some disappointing reason, there is always something holding them back.
*This took quite a bit of courage to publish since it was a hot take on an issue that has been around for so long and has had so many opinions circling it. So, please treat it kindly, and feel free to share personal stories if you have them. I am sorry if you can relate to this article.
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