Unequal Pay Barriers

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How can it be that women make up half the population, have more college degrees and have made substantial gains in the workforce yet still face career barriers and less pay than men? Women in the workforce, especially higher up, face the disadvantages of the glass ceiling, the glass escalator and unequal pay. The existence of women’s career barriers and unequal pay make a significant obstacle for women trying to make a living when they are constantly being told a man could do the job better. Although some women have made it big, career barriers and unequal pay still exist because America has shown its disinterest in women’s problems, leading people to believe that feminism is no longer needed.
Despite Equal Pay being on the docket of multiple …show more content…
This glass ceiling prevents women from making headway in their industry by restricting promotions into higher level management, most often by giving a man the promotion instead. Given the multiple discrimination laws in place, one would believe that sexism in promotions doesn’t happen that often, but surprisingly, a “survey of 3,000 members of the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) found 73% of female respondents felt barriers still existed for women seeking senior management and board-level positions in the UK” (Snowdon, 2011). This staggering number refers to the multiple ways that women can be discriminated against in the workforce, such as not being offered a promotion because a pregnancy. Not only are women fired and not given promotions for being pregnant, mothers are paid significantly less than men who are fathers. Additionally, mothers are more likely to leave the fast track of the corporate world to stay home with their children, since it is increasingly difficult to make motherhood and business leadership work together as well as afford it. With these barriers, unequal pay and decreasing opportunities still preventing women from becoming CEOs, it is hard to look at the less successful side of the coin. The double edged sword of corporate life consists of women very close to breaking through the glass ceiling but still can’t, as well as the women at the bottom, most likely women of color, that can’t make the same strides. Sadly, “1% feminism is all about the glass ceiling, never about the floor. It addresses the concerns, anxieties and prerogatives of the 1%, women who are at or near the top levels of their professions, the corporate world or government.” (Burnham, 2013) Any media coverage on the subject mostly relates to women at the top, mostly white, middle class women rather than their poorer, women of color counterparts.
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