December 8, 2004
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California wage gap an issue of gender
Professionals say increase in equality is still not good enough
Working in a public defense law office during the early years of her career, Bette Racki observed the unfair treatment of women in the workplace through male superiors’ frequent discriminatory questioning of why a female should receive equal pay since she “[has] a husband.”
Now, as city clerk for Davis, she said such bias would not be tolerated.
“I’m seeing a change,” Racki said. “Companies are looking [more so] for the best qualified person.”
According to national polls, women today who work full-time and full-year earn roughly 77 percent of their male counterparts’ wages.
Although this statistic seems overwhelmingly progressive when compared to the 59 percent wage gap of 1965, it is, in this way, misleading. When compared with men, women are more likely to work part-time in more genderized roles that prohibit skill-oriented upward mobility, while perpetuating the pervasive gender inequality that plagues the American workplace, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
“There is still a lot of segregation in labor markets,” said Matt Huffman, UC Irvine associate professor of sociology. “And jobs that are typically done by women just pay less.”
The Institute further argued that gender segregation of this kind derives from a social phenomenon wherein the “tiered schema” of jobs in America is divided into elite, good and less-skilled jobs. Each of these tiers is then subdivided into specific roles tacitly deemed appropriate for women and men, respectively.
Sexism is discovered in each of these tiers as “women’s jobs” pay significantly less though require an equal, and sometimes higher, degree of education. Simultaneously, throughout all of these tiers the patriarchal nature of the “good ol’ boys club” ideology impedes women’s efforts to simply make ends meet.
Public Relations Director Rachel Allen for the California branch of the National Organization for Women cautioned that in the workplace “many elements still make it difficult for women to navigate.”
Navigation refers to encouraging women to realize their full potential in the workplace through NOW’s analogy of “on and off ramps” such as flexible work hours, available childcare, stricter sexual harassment policy and mentorship.
“Having a good mentor is the best way to advance women and minorities,” Allen said.
Still, many believe that equality is just within reach for women in the workplace. Local professionals like Racki and Davis Downtown Business Association Executive Director Laura Cole-Rowe confirm that today’s women are more of a protected class, and thus face far less discrimination than ever before.
However, California is unlike many other states, according to Huffman. Here in the Golden State, women earn 81 percent of what men earn, and 36 percent of employed women are in managerial positions.
“In my industry…things have gotten a lot better,” Cole-Rowe said. “Pay is better now, [but discrimination] has not completely gone away.”
Efforts by California NOW’s Women in the Workplace Taskforce to provide public education on these issues of inequality and discrimination also help to quicken the pace at which the wage gap narrows.
With a projected 50 years before the gender wage gap is conceivably eliminated, these efforts have focused substantially on reforming state and national law.
As for how these 50 years should be spent, Allen is hopeful “to see federal legislation that requires equal pay for equal work.”
DAVID ASEN can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.
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