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Going to work is a drag for most people, but it needs to be done. Waking up in the morning, making a cup of coffee, and hitting the road to do the same thing for eight hours can be challenging. But bills need to be paid, and people have to eat, so it’s a necessary sacrifice for most people.
But they have to drag just as much and work just as hard for less money for some people. It is a shame that people are working just as hard and getting paid less, and when most people think of pay equity, they think of the wage gap between men and women. Even though it is very predominant and an issue, pay equity measures beyond the scope of just gender. It also hits people of color and age.
Jobs Available
When people think of pay equity, they will often think of the wage gap between men and women. Men get paid more for doing the same job is truly embarrassing, but it is not only women but also money. The positions available for people of color and females are drastically more limited than those of white men.
This hurts the country’s economy because it takes away willing people from the workforce. Women who are eager and qualified to do the same job as men are immediately excluded. There are only so many capable people for specific jobs. By eliminating half of them strictly because of gender, it is hard to fill open job positions, thus decreasing the amount of cash flow through the business that can’t fill the positions.
Productivity
Even though jobs are more limited to people of color and women, if women, people of color, and men are all gathered in the same workplace, the white men will most likely get paid more. If one were to go and do a pay equity analysis, it is likely to show that the men receive higher pay. Thus, it is expected that women and people of color are likely to be less productive. Many people who get paid less will take the approach to work as much as they get paid, and reasonably so.
Having this pay gap decreases worker productivity, and it again negatively affects the country’s money flow. If each person were to get paid the same amount, the company would produce more money, thus putting more cash into the economy. Not only is the wage gap hurting people, but it is also hurting the country.
Overall, pay equity is extremely important, not only for the moral reason of working just as hard you should get paid the same amount, but it also negatively affects the economy and the people in America. Nothing good comes out of this wage gap we have between the working class.
All it does is promote racism and sexism, and it drives good people, who could be a substantial addition to the working class, away from maintaining a job. People who are willing to work hard for equal compensation will gladly jump into the workforce, but they have too much respect for themselves to earn less than another person strictly based on race, gender, or age.
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