Reis Rosenbloom.

Persuasive Essay.
AP English Language.
Russel B3.
December 15, 2014.
Equal Work Deserves Equal Pay.
Imagine an experiment in which two Capuchin monkeys are held side by
side, separated by a clear wall, you have each monkey preform a job. You pay
the first monkey cucumber, a satisfying snack for a money, and she eats it
willingly. The second monkey completes the job and you pay him in grapes, a
far more desirable snack than cucumbers . The first monkey notices you paid her
neighbor in grapes, and she willingly completes the task a second time ,
expecting grapes as payment, however when she receives cucumber again, she
rejects it, protesting she wants a grape. This continues without the monkey
receiving the grapes acknowledging the other monkey, he shows no sympathy
toward the monkey receiving insufficient payment. This exact experiment was
done by Dr. Sarah Brosnan. If a monkey expects equal payment for doing the
same job as another monkey, why shouldnt women expect equal, albeit more

legitimate, payment for doing the same job as a man. Ever since women began
working for wages, they have accepted lower.pay than males, granted that this
was a time when women and men werent working the same.jobs; however, even
in this day and age when men and women work .side by side, women are payed
lower wages than.their male counter parts and are still discriminated against .
Discrimination.towards women in the workplace occurs because of gross
stereotypes towards women people have. Often times, women are seen as,
incapable of doing work that traditionally has been done by men , such as jobs
involving physical labor and managerial skills (NWLC). This is because of the
stereotype people have of women being dainty and weak; needing a mans man
to help her out. Because of these misconceptions, women are more likely to be
relegated to jobs that have traditionally been done by women (NWLC). These
stereotypical womans jobs are payed lower wages. It is illegal to discriminate
when it comes to any element of employment,.however, despite discrimination
being illegal, it is found that, African-American women working.full time, year
round were paid only 64 cents, and Hispanic women only 55 cents, for every

dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men (NWLC). This is a blatant disregard for
federal law. Women in the work place should not be stereotyped and must be
treated as equal to their male counterparts .
Women are also discriminated against in general , and for reasons much
wider than just stereotypes. In a study published buy British newspaper it was
stated that, more than a quarter of women have experienced some form of
gender discrimination in the workplace (Sanghani). This is because Women
aren't and peer-to-peer relationships in the workplace . It's also been found that,
Out of 1,500 office workers in the UK, 26 per cent of women felt that having
children held them back in their career (Sanghani). Further evidence points to
statistics showing mothers with children being paid 7 to 14 percent less than their
childless counterparts. There's also the factor of the gender wage gap; a study
showed that, scientists-typically.trained to reject subjective criteriawere more
likely to hire a.male applicant, rank him hire incompetency and pay him $4,000
more than a female (Wilkie). This again shows blatant disrespect and
discrimination against women. Some economists argue that the gender wage

gap, the.difference between male and female earnings , is narrowing, and a,

Pew reportseemed to bring good news: The pay gap.is narrowing, and
millennial women are nearlywith millennial men (Labaton). This
is.encouraging, however, The Institute for Womens Policy Research estimates
that, based on the current trajectory, it could take until 2056 (Labaton). This
would mean that todays young workforce would be ready for .retirement by they
time they reach paritythis estimate is an optimistic one at best. Women are
often discriminated for being the gender that they are . In continuing with
discrimination and how that factors into a womans salary, there have been
studies published by HR Magazine stating that for every 1% increase in a
woman's body mass there is a corresponding .6% decrease in family income
(Wilkie). Not only is this discriminatory but degrading , a womanor anyone for
that mattershould never be judged for her weight, but for her skills. There are
also circumstances where a woman is judged to be deserving of a higher pay
than someone else, based on her outward appearance. This is because, the
salaries of blond women are 7% higher than those of women who are brunettes
or redheads (Wilkie).

It is depressing that women around the world are so

very discriminated against, their wages being determined on their appearance, or

simply their gender. Stereotypes, it seems, continue to limit womens
opportunities as well as contribute to the wage gap. To combat this, laws must be
reviewed and revised. Our society must be tinkered with and taught. Women
must be able to fight against discrimination in pay and promotions. Harvard labor
economist, Claudia Goldin, said it is not truethe common belief that women are
just in bad occupations and that by putting them in better ones would fix the
gender wage gap. Because 77 cents to the dollar, on average, is how much
women in the U.S. make when compared to their equally hard working, male
counterparts. We must, as a society, not act as monkeys dowe must turn our
backs on someone who is being discriminated against, and we must not settle for
paying that is not equal.

Works Cited

Labaton, Vivien. "Five Myths about the Gender Pay Gap." Washington Post.
The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

National Womens Law Center. "Sex Stereotypes: How They Hurt Women
in the Workplace - and in the Wallet." (2012): n. pag. Web.
Sanghani, Radhika. "Gender Discrimination Still Rife in British Workplaces ." The
Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
"Sex-Based Discrimination. Sex-Based Discrimination. United States
Government, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
Wilkie, Dana. "Bringing Bias into the Light." HR Magazine December 2014
(n.d.): n. pag. Web.