From the war born days of the 1930's still lingers the question: Do genders posses the same value in today's workforce? A question, arisen from the present salary gap amongst sexes whose achievements only differentiate in no means except for one: their sex. Though the gap has narrowed greatly in the past seventy five years, it indeed still remains. Like an elephant in the room of alleged "freedom and democracy," it is our society's job to acknowledge and work towards better understanding of this issue. After reading the article listed above, both my initial and natural inclination as a woman would of course be to immediately take stand on a feminist platform; one seeking utter equality. Those this conclusion may or may not be a correct one, my final standpoint on both the article and topic yet to remain. This is done so due to validate my conclusion only after examining all intricacies of the issue.
From the days of women being granted the "right" to work in war production factories in 1918 to recently seeing our first serious female potential candidate for president , it is seemingly inarguable that a women's rights expanded greatly. Sadly today, we still are faced with the apparent gap amongst genders in their salary. Turning our heads to the article listed above, we observe a study taken at in 2008 (though later updated as linked in the article). Catherine DesRoches and colleagues from the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital mailed surveys to more than 3,000 in the workforce. Specifically, this was a group composed of life science faculty members amongst fifty universities receiving federal funding for research at their medical schools. Through a culmination of statistics taken (anywhere from hours worked per week to articles and studies published), DesRoches concluded that woman made on average $13,288 lower in annual salary. Not were male professors reported as making more, but full time female professors had actually acquired far more hours then the men.In fact the only area in which the male professors obtained superiority over their female components was in the amount of publications. This, in turn, allowed for what is referred to in the article as the "trail blazer effect," A term depicting the indited route purposed by the authors, in which more women be called upon for representation on boards and committees within the medical field.
This article is a valid example of the issue created by the gap. Though the article's legitimacy stems from the vast amount of people within the study, the key importance of it lies rather in the necessity in continuing to advance medicine. Progression in medicine capitalizes when society's brain power is based on sheer ability; thus gender is irrelevant. Like most articles, it presents the reader with both the evidence and various view points; though the opinion taken from which lay always with the reader.
So, how to move forward? The first necessity is to restore faith in mans ability to constantly seek progression towards the better. As long as we take necessary steps forward, including things such as development of young women's education and equality protection programs; I for see the closure of any salary gap an inevitability. The more open we are to the idea that modern families needn't possess any expected role due to their sex, we will see previous expected norms to fall by the way side. Today, we not only see a prominent development of the so called "stay at home dad", but a new acceptance of housholds in which both parents work. With the constantly roles of both man and women regarding financial and houshold responsibilities slowly losing gender identities; it is only logical to assume that this will one day allow for the closure of gender gap.
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