In the United States, the notion that women can perform any task at the same ability as a man is normally considered the truth. There are female physicians, female police officers, and females serving in the army. All of these occupations lead one to believe that women can do any job a man can do, but the simple truth is that women still do not get paid equally when compared to men. Even after the passing of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women working full time “still earn only $0.81 for every $1.00 men make” (Edwards & Wattenburg 163) as indicated by the book Government in America.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was the first federal law passed by Congress that specialized in the prevention of sexual discrimination. The …show more content…
Because of this, it is seemingly rather obvious as to what a woman has to do in order to earn the same as a man. In whatever occupation they may choose, women must be able to have enough skill to keep up with the demand of the group they serve. Women must put it in enough effort so that they may remain productive. And while performing a task, they must express a certain degree of responsibility so that they remain competent to the requirements of their job. All of these qualities describe the civic responsibilities that women, and really every individual, have if they desire to be given equal compensation for their efforts. However, the situation is actually more complex than what it originally appears to be.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 seems like the perfect solution to end any wage disparities, but that statement is really not all that true. Cynthia Harrison explains in her article, “Because women and men seldom possess identical job classifications, the reach of the Equal Pay Act has been limited” (Harrison 14). This means that even if a woman has the same qualifications, performs her job at a level that is above satisfactory, and works in similar working conditions to a man, she may experience some wage disparity because her job is not classified as the