Ledbetter Act Research Paper

Improved Essays
Women have struggled to be equal for over a century (Imbornoni, n.d.). Minority women have a steeper mountain to climb to reach equality. Women are able to demonstrate their abilities to provide equal contributions to employers. And, up to recently women have progressed in the armed forces by passing rigorous training to become the most elite in the United States Army. The opportunity to join the Rangers was only offered to men. This proves that some women are capable of performing equal jobs. Women continue to strive for equality in job titles and pay.
Women today are paid, on average, only 77 cents for every dollar paid to men. And the gap is even worse for women of color - African American women earn only 64 cents and Latina women
…show more content…
The issue violates the utilitarianism rule because it is unfair to women that are equally qualified for a job she is performing as well as a man to be paid less based on gender. On the other hand, if a person markets themselves for cheaper service of course they will be the best candidate for the job as long as they meet the qualification requirement. The Ledbetter Act will hopefully help women receive equal pay in the workforce. The dilemma will continue for most, because as Ledbetter stated, “People wouldn’t think to go to EEOC in their first six months, you’re trying a new job, to learn the ropes and make a good impression, not file a lawsuit” (Soley-Cerro, 2013). The change in the timeline allowing for lawsuits 180 days after the last discriminatory pay check is more reasonable (Soley-Cerro, 2013). However, it will open the option for retaliation towards companies. Today women struggle just a little harder for jobs that are more labor intense. We as people, men and women face more obstacles when we are born into poverty rather than born into a certain gender. For some, their poverty is due to the single mom working to make ends meet and take care of their family

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In some cases, researchers state that women in the workforce will not get paid equally for the same job function because of gender gap pay. Ironically, since the Equal Pay Act in 1963 passed, companies have not always followed this act and paid women equally. Furthermore, it has also said that the working industry and employers have made substantial progress towards gender equality pay in the workforce. However, “despite these gains the raw wage gap continues to be used in misleading ways to advance public policy agendas without fully explaining the reasons behind the gap” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2009, p. 1).…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Within most companies only a few upper levels positions exist and very few are equivalent positions. That means most women are unable to prove, within the law, their exact male counterpart is earning more because their peer exists outside of their company. By addressing this issue the Equal Pay Act’s original goals can finally be met. With that, women will be much closer to receiving the same pay as men, and the business world will be one step closer to being…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lilly Ledbetter Case

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Female citizens of The United States have been unfairly paid for many years. It is clear to say that men dominate the work force. Although men are receiving higher pay, a number of women today have the same level of education and experience as them. Most women do not realize they are being discriminated upon. One of those women happens to be Lilly Ledbetter.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Firstly, the wage gap between genders is not only just an issue of ethics, but of blatant inequality. In an age rife with claims of false equality, of which are preached upon by those in power and consumed by the masses, it is no surprise that many have forgotten the actuality of a wage barrier between men and women. Many simply refuse to believe in its existence, while others feel as though it must be in place for some logical reason, as cutting women short a few dozen cents seems fairly illogical. As much as one would like to trust their employer, the shocking truth is that women are shorthanded at least twenty-three cents to the male dollar, the amount slowly declining once race is involved, with Latina women earning fifty-two cents to the male dollar. (Widmer)…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When President Obama was elected into office, he made gender equality one of his priorities at once. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 so that complaints could be filed within 180-days of a discriminatory paycheck and the days would reset with each paycheck. This is one of many steps taken to end gender inequality in the workplace. Women can now bring their cases to court, but this do not aid them in fighting their employer’s discrimination completely. Companies may still claim that their female employees have not performed their jobs as efficiently as men.…

    • 1078 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The latest data from the United States Census Bureau shows that women only make 79 cents to every dollar a man earns” (“Gender Inequality”). This is an unjustifiable fact that needs serious adjustments. The pay gap does not reflect any other characteristics of a woman other than her gender. Verily, “there remains a pay gap — even after factoring in the kind of work people do, or qualifications such as education and experience” (“Your Right”). There is no logical reason as to why unequal pay persists.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    No. Women will be given the same opportunities as men but will not get the respect they deserve. Equal pay, sports, and genetics are results of men and women not ever being able to be achieve true gender equality. The wage gap between men and women are significantly different but is really affecting women of color.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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…

    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Australian women have fought for the right to equal pay since the early 1900’s. In 1948, the value of equal pay for equal work was acknowledged in the Universal Declaration of Human rights1. The gender pay gap is the difference between the average of men and women’s’ earnings, displayed as a percentage of male earnings1. The pay gap between genders is currently at 17.5%2. This is despite the small fluxes over time, this has not changed in 20 years, the gender pay gap was small in 1994 at the rate of 15.9%.…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is sad that in our nation there is such a big breach between opportunities for men and woman. Women are also less likely to hold political offices and often have to try twice as hard to be respected half as much. Also, The International Labour organization confirms “Equality in pay has improved in the US since 1979 when women earned about 62 percent as much as men. In 2010, American women on average earned 81 percent of what their male counterparts earned. ”(Gender Inequality and Woman in the US Labor Force)…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Women In Pay

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In today’s society, it is hard to believe that we are still having problems with equality, especially with wages between men and women. Women have been fighting, since the 1920s, to be considered equal to men, yet they are still not being paid the same amount as them. “U.S. Census data from 2015 shows a dramatic wage gap between men and women in median annual pay: American women earn, on average, only 79 cents for every dollar that men make” ("Every Office Needs a 79 Percent Clock") For women who are Hispanic or black, this wage gap is far worse. Hispanic and black women make, “only 55 cents and 60 cents, respectively, for every dollar that men earn for similar work” ("U.S. wage gap costing women $500B per year, new study finds"). If a man and women hold the same job, they should be paid the same amount, because there should be no double standards in paying someone based on their gender.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Growing up people are raised to be fair, equal and to share with others no matter what. In today’s society it’s quite different. All round the world discrimination, violence and depression is spilled out regardless if it has been done at work, school, public places or even at home. One in particular issue that evolves throughout this gigantic universe is equality. “Equality is far more important and should be recognized, equality means the quality or state of being equal the quality or state of having the same rights, social status, etc.…

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gender Pay Gap Jennifer Ortiz ENG122: English Composition II Nicole Elliot August 15, 2016 Gender Pay Gap Equal employment opportunities and the right to earn a paycheck that is free from gender bias is the right given to all American females under the Equal Pay Act 1963. Equal pay refers to “the right of a man or woman to receive the same pay as a person of the opposite sex doing the same or similar work for the same or a similar employer.” (Equal pay, n.d.). Equal Pay not only protects wages, but also ensures employers provide employees equal compensations regardless of gender.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pay Gap Research Paper

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Since our country was first established women have been thought less of. Viewed as the weaker sex, they did not have the same privileges that men had throughout the centuries. For many years women had no choice but to be stay at home moms. Taking care of the kids, cleaning the house, and cooking was a woman’s day to day job. Then, the industrial revolution came and changed everything.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In almost every single occupation women are paid expressively less than men and are all because of inequality which this inequality is presented in countless different ways. One of the ways is a gender-based difference, particularly wage difference, that has affected most of the world. It is a determined problem with the inconsistency of income between women and men. The gender wage gap is unadjusted and is defined as the difference between average earnings of men and women compare to medium earnings of men (OECD, 2017). The unequal pay for women in every occupation is a fundamental part of everyday life which restrict individuals to support themselves and their families.…

    • 1589 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays