Introduction
The Gender wage gap has been prevalent in many, if not all countries since the beginning of time. Women are being payed far less than men for the same work. To further my understanding, I will look at multiple studies and academic articles regarding locations and occupations where these discriminatory pay gaps exist. Through research, it has been discovered that manager gender and the organizational position of the employees being evaluated are considered when assessing the relationship between the formalization of pay and gender pay inequality (Abraham, M. 2017). Throughout this literature review I will attempt to find answers as to why we have a wage gap between genders, and if the gender of the “Man in-charge" can change that.
Worldwide Effects
The pay gap in employment is seen across the world in various countries. Wages and career progression among women are a matter of great concern in Latin America, one of the most unequal regions in the world. Studies show that the Ethnic wage gap in Peru is indeed much more pronounced among women, earning from 49-57 per cent of non-indigenous wages compared to men, earning 61-80 per cent (Kolev, A., & Suárez Robles, P. 2015). These rates are high considering the number of women occupying the workforce. Female labor participation in Brazil increased substantially during the second half of the twentieth century, similar to many other Latin and South American countries. According to information from Mexico’s population censuses, the percentage of women between 18 and 65 years of age participating in the labor force grew from 19.4% in 1970, to 24.2% in 1990 and to 42.3% in 2010 (Orraca, P., Cabrera, F., & Iriarte, G. 2016). Considering the influx of working women in the same occupations as men, they are required to have the same skill set. Studies concluded that even when both genders have the same characteristics, men are better paid than women. This difference in pay is decreasing but was still a significant 15.4 percent, on average, in 2007 (Madalozzo, R. 2010). Within the United States conditions are still unjust. Comparisons of earnings for male and female workers in the United States consistently reveal that women earn substantially less than similarly qualified men working in the same organizational positions (Abraham, M. 2017).
Occupations
There are many speculations regarding the gender wage gap that contain the question of whether occupations play a role in why many women are underpaid. Studies have reviewed this concept to discover which jobs it is most apparent in. Results have concluded that the wage gap is more pronounced at the upper ends of the wage distributions (Kolev, A., & Suárez Robles, P. 2015). During the last decades, women have surpassed men in overall rates of college graduation and have almost reached parity with men in rates of earning doctoral and professional degrees. Though women are attaining such valued degrees, the pay disadvantage is still vast. Most studies do note that the wage gap for women is substantially smaller in the public than in the private sector (Mandel, H., & Semyonov, M. 2014). The Public sector refers to government-owned organizations and government-provided services. Private sector refers to organizations that are not government owned, and the goods and services provided by organizations outside of the government: Most likely owned by an individual. Results clearly suggest that sector-specific factors are a more important driving force behind the differences observed in the patterns of gender wage gaps between innovation workers in manufacturing and services, although occupation-specific factors cannot be totally dismissed (Asplund, R., & Napari, S. 2011). On the other hand, in occupational based study researchers developed theories based upon the wages of high earning MIS and software engineers. The data identified a large and persistent gender earnings differential that shows no secular decline despite the increasing share of the occupation compromised of female professionals (Heywood, J., & Nezlek, G. 1993).
Managerial gender
Numerous Articles and Book chapters have created theories and possible solutions about the gendered wage gaps. A reoccurring topic is to question the gender of the person in a managerial position. According to this study among 857 employees in 120 retail branches of a financial services firm, I find evidence of less gender pay inequality in terms of less formalized components of pay for employees reporting to a female manager (Abraham, M. 2017). During this time, women’s representation in managerial occupations increased from about one-third to one-half. The increase in women’s representation in management “lifts all boats” by reducing gender inequality among nonmanagerial workers or whether the benefits that accrue to female managers are limited only to those women. The motivations of female managers may be affected by two potential sources of loyalty or identity: their female peers in subordinate class positions and their managerial peers and superiors (Cohen, P., & Huffman, M. 2007). These findings demonstrate that it is critical to take manager gender and the organizational position of the employees being evaluated into account when assessing the relationship between the formalization of pay and gender pay inequality. When male managers have discretion, they are subject to decision-making biases, which typically lead them to favor male employees when allocating resources (Reskin, 2000; Ridgeway, 1997)(Abraham, M. 2017). While it's true that women in managerial positions do alleviate some of the pay differentials between genders, they are often not given positions executive positions in higher tier jobs. It is possible that due to a baseline sectoral segregation, women are typically managers in workplaces with lower quality pay and jobs Cohen, P., & Huffman, M. (2007). Regardless of the sedated closing of the gap, women are still being discriminated against.
Conclusion
From my findings and discoveries through academic research, it has been proven that the gendered wage gap affects woman from all over the world. The gap seems to be most substantial in the upper end of the wage distribution. The studies shown have concluded that the Gender wage gap has its most extreme differential between public and private sectors, rather than occupations. The studies finalized that the gender of the manager or person in an executive position can have an effect on the pay of nonmanagerial women in the work place. These positions confer well-documented benefits, including improved status, wages, autonomy, and overall work experience. Though there is not one conclusive answer, these changes can positively influence the workforce and work towards a smaller pay gap in the future. “As more women in [positions of authority] make crucial decisions about salaries, promotions, hiring, and firing, gender differences in earnings should decline” Cotter and colleagues (1997:715)” (Cohen, P., & Huffman, M. 2007).