K. George, a ThirdSight student engaged in historical inquiry using visual elements an environment to display their endeavors, explains, “Rosie the Riveter, a propaganda tool utilized by the U. S. Government to boost morale and recruit women into the workforce, was an important part of gender pay equality. She encouraged more than six million female workers to step up to the plate and accomplish things that only men had done before (George). Although Rosie had a strong impact, there is still a 20% pay gap between males and females in the United States.
An important area that needs to be addressed when discussing women and work, is the glass ceiling. This introduces a quote from Richard Nixon’s “Address to the Nation on Labor Day” speech in 1971, “We hear voices saying that it immoral or materialistic to strive for an ever-higher standard of living. ” This is a demonstration of how women feel in the workforce because they are “tied down” by barriers caused by several factors. This research has lead to the question, if women in America were greatly impacted by Rosie the Riveter in the workforce, how can we use propaganda in order to affect the pay gap between genders today?
The first step to answering this question is to address the factors causing the gender pay gap. The United States’ pay gap between genders is being caused by the glass ceiling, failed legislative laws, and overt sexism. Economically, the gender pay gap can be demonstrated through numbers. According to Kevin Miller, former researcher at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, found that in the United States, male earnings per year total to $51,212, while female earnings total to only $40,742.
Locally, in Kentucky, male earnings total to $43,037 per year, while female earnings only total to $35,294 (Miller). One factor that causes such a gap is the glass ceiling. This a concept that women are psychologically held down by men and other barriers which are causing women to stay quiet, instead of requesting for higher pay. Referring back to Nixon’s speech, “We are told that this desire to get ahead must be curbed because it will leave others behind. ” To put into perspective, some men do not want to be brought down, or left behind, due to women working equally.
To expand on the glass ceiling, Jackson Jerlando, an Associate Professor of Higher and Postsecondary Education and Elizabeth O? Callaghan, a Doctoral Candidate of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, discovered that administrative salary data from ACE also reveals that women consistently lag behind men regarding compensation in administrative positions at all types of institutions. One quote, found by Scott Kaufman an assistant editor at Salon (a website focusing on U. S. politics and current affairs), ‘Women do earn less in America,” Gavin McInnes argues, “because they choose to.
Women would rather go to their daughter’s piano recital than stay all night at work, working on a proposal, because they’re less ambitious,” (Kaufman). On the other hand, an interview between 60 Minutes contributor Norah O’Donnell and Women’s National Soccer Team captain Carli Lloyd, revealed that the US women’s soccer team has been asking for equal pay over and over again, and when questioned if it’s because they are women, therefore inferior, the men’s soccer team only responded angrily, ‘When asking about equal pay, and the women’s soccer team mentioned the men, the men’s soccer team got upset and discusses, “Don’t bring up men.
Also, the women’s soccer team is working just as hard, if not harder, than the men’s soccer team. During the “… Summer’s Olympics, the women are still No. 1 in the world according to FIFA. They say that their fight is only with U. S. Soccer, not with the U. S. men’s team, who are ranked a respectable if unspectacular 24th in the world,” (O’Donnel). Although existing laws are in place that specifically address the gender ay gap, their efforts to strengthen wage discrimination laws have failed and there is little reason to believe that gender wage parity will occur without additional steps. To quote Marianne Kulow, Associate Professor of Law at Bentley University, who obtains a Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard University, and has a Juris Doctorate from Boston University, reads, “There are three federal laws regarding inequality in wages for women, however women are still making approximately 77 cents to men’s dollar,” (Kulow).
Also, none of these laws focus on the unawareness of paychecks. Wage discrimination often goes undetected by its victims because salaries of comparably employed males are usually private information- legislative tools available to remedy wage discrimination are underutilized due to a lack of awareness of claims. One solution to the gender pay gap is a new law allowing discussion between paychecks, which would eliminate any inequality because women would know how much to ask for to make as much as their male counterpart, if they are qualified.
However, “Confidentiality of employee payroll data is critical because a leak can result in discord among employees and compromise the employer or employee’s financial situation,” (Ferguson). For that reason. people would be unhappy with sharing their incomes with others which makes this solution flawed. Finding this solution to not be the best, and looking at such a great impact Rosie the Riveter had on the gender inequality in labor, the overall solution is to increase the amount of propaganda in order to boost initiatives that will encourage gender equality.
The final factor being addressed by the solution of increased propaganda is the 41. 1% of the pay gap that is known as “unmeasurable. ” This “unmeasurable” portion happens to be the largest factor and it is believed to be caused by overt sexism. The Gender Wage Gap Strategy Steering Committee, one of the Ministry of Labour’s organization whose mission is to advance safe and fair workplace practices in Ontario insists that there is gender bias and discrimination (intentional or unintentional) in business practices that can prevent women from achieving their full economic potential (Gender Wage Gap Strategy Steering Committee). “… he EOC keeps squawking loudly that women are being paid less than men and that, somehow, they are being cheated by men.
The suggestion is always that men are, somehow, holding women back. But it’s the same old vindictive feminist nonsense that tries to blame men for everything,” (Gender Equality Is Not Achievable – Ever). This quote shows that women are not held down by (some) men. However, referring back the Carli Lloyd’s fight for equality proves that this is not true. Women want a change and are working for a change, but with the lack of participation and willingness from men, and other women, are keeping the gender pay gap in place.
Amanda Marcotte, a politics writer for Salon who covers American politics, feminism, and culture, discovered a quote from Gavin McInnes, “Look, there’s different ways to look at the data, but the big picture here is women do earn less in America because they choose to,” he argued on Fox News last year. ” They’re less ambitious. And I think this is sort of God’s way, this is nature’s way of saying women should be at home with the kids,” (Marcotte). Invoking sexist stereotypes in order to make other obligations, like “women don’t work as hard,” or “men are more labor driven,” is what is greatly contributing to the discrimination.
Looking at these factors, the most effective solution to fixing the pay gap is propaganda that encourages men and women to participate in initiatives that will balance the pay gap. Referring back to the impact of Rosie the Riveter and the six million women that she influenced into the workforce, this solution will be beneficial. By using propaganda, this could allow all genders to comprehend the pros of having gender equality in the workforce. Equality can actually better a country’s overall economic performance. One initiative that is benefitting the nation’s pay gap is the Intel Global Diversity Initiative.
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Intel, Danielle Brown, discusses that, “We’re creating an inclusive environment where all Intel employees can be fully empowered to take on the world’s most complex and challenging problems” (Brown). This initiative also has its success rates, proving that this is working; therefore propaganda can be an influential factor will that bring awareness to this initiative. “We’ve consistently improved our hiring numbers over the past three years – and we’re committed to continuing that growth in 2017,” (Brown).
This solution fully answers the question, if women in America were greatly impacted by Rosie the Riveter in the workforce, how can we use propaganda in order to affect the pay gap between genders today? The increased use of propaganda, encouraged by Rosie the Riveter, will motivate all genders to cooperate together in initiatives, like the Intel Global Diversity Initiative, that could, over time, close the pay gap between male and females; because, as of now, if change continues at the lagging rate since 2001, the gap will not be fully closed until 2152 (Miller).
Finally, this solution could also leave behind the glass ceiling because women would no longer be held down; also the failing legislative laws will not matter because new proactive steps are being made, and this could definitely lower the amount of overt sexism that is happening today. Today, Minnesota is a national leader in women’s workforce participation. While the number of working women has declined nationally in recent years, in Minnesota it has increased.
Workforce participation increased from 74% in 2000 to 79% in 2011. Even though Minnesota has equal-salary certificate policies, there are still flaws in their strive for gender equality. For instance, in Minnesota, “Although women are receiving the majority of degrees, they need them to earn as much as men with less formal education,” (Women’s Foundation of Minnesota).
However, Iceland is the first to make equal pay mandatory for both private and public firms. “The government said it will introduce legislation to parliament this month, requiring all employers with more than 25 staff members to obtain certification to prove they give equal pay for work of equal value,” (The Associated Press). In doing so, Iceland hopes to increase economic growth, performance, and reputation, which is what the United States should focus on.
