(Miss)conception #2: "The Gender Wage Gap is a Myth"
In another addition of FemiNotes "(Miss)conceptions" I'll address another common misconception regarding feminism. This misconception being that the gender wage gap is a myth. Unlike, unicorns and leprechauns the wage gap does, in fact, exist. Yet, anti-feminists and those against feminism claim that it isn't real and that's one of the main reasons why they claim feminism is no longer needed.
Most proponents against the movement claim that women create this oppression as a means to get attention and trick the system. This belief is especially widespread here in America, where the biggest claim is that women are the most liberated and free. While American women, and most Western women do have more rights than most women across the world the belief that the wage gap doesn't exist here is utterly false. Furthermore, the wage gap doesn't just affect women but women of color as well.
Here are just a few statistics to further back my point: an extensive research report by the American Association of University Women from 2014, finds that “[t]he pay gap affects all women, but for African American and Hispanic/Latina women, it is a steeper climb”. For example, in 2012, “Asian American and white women had higher weekly-take-home pay than African American and Hispanic or Latina women did, and the pattern was similar for men in these groups”.
The AAUW further notes that “compared with white men (the largest group in the workforce), African American and Hispanic/Latina women fare poorly”. For instance, the average Hispanic or Latina woman is paid 89 percent of what their respective male counterparts are paid, and only 53 percent of what a white man is paid. These statistics look remarkably similar when analyzing the wages of African American women, who are often paid 89 percent of what African American men are paid, a number which drops to 64 percent in comparison to white men.
Moreover, even with the aid of the same level of education, African American, Hispanic, and Latina women are still paid less than their white peers. This almost explicitly suggests that educational background, while still a significant aspect of take-home pay, is not the only factor in determining wage. Meaning that the degree of disparity among wages for women and men extends far past educational influences and into the realms of the sexism and racism still prominent in the workplace. There the aforementioned disheartening statistics are indicative of the necessity of intersectionality in the workplace.
Simply put, as the Institute for Women’s Policy Research contends, if the rate that the gender wage gap changes remains stagnant “it would take until 2058 for men and women to reach parity”. Meaning that in order to effectively eliminate economic inequality significant social progression must be made. Therefore not only does the gender wage gap exist but it can be eliminated by advocating intersectionality and in turn creating economic justice, mobility, and equality for women across all races and ethnicities. Proving that feminism, specifically, intersectionality presents societal progression and advancement an attainable and sustainable goal.
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