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Gender Pay Equality Annotated Bibliography
Arulampalam, W., Booth, A. L., & Bryan, M. L. (2007). Is there a glass ceiling over Europe? Exploring the gender pay gap across the wage distribution. ILR Review, 60(2), 163-186.
In their study, Arulampalam, Booth, and Bryan (2007) set out to examine the level of differences in gender pay gaps between those in top-level employment positions and those in lower positions. The research confirms the findings by Polacheck (2004) on his assertion that as interests between the men and women employees decrease, the pay gap between them decreases. Top-level employees are highly likely to have made a decision on career improvement and success in the said profession, making them more zealous in pursuit of success than junior employees. To have similar interests irrespective of gender. The study fits well into the discussion as it explains the role of the human capital model in explaining the difference.
However, this research uses too much specialized business language, which limits its audience to those privy of business language. Although it tackles a business field issue, part of the audience could comprise of new entrants into the market with limited knowledge of concepts, such as the glass ceiling. The use of such would be a disincentive to the reader, limiting the availability of knowledge. However, other than the jargon, the researchers use different business management theories to make their case, which serves as a positive aspect of the study.
Blau, F. D., & Kahn, L. M. (2000). Gender differences in pay (No. w7732). National bureau of economic research.
The objective of Blau and Khan’s study was to establish some of the factors attributable to the gender pay gap in the United States. According to the researchers, several factors including discrimination and overall wage structure have a significant influence on the gender pay gap in the society. Notably, the researcher alludes to the presence of discrimination in the workplace as a cause of gender pay gap, which adds to the previously identified human capital model as a factor contributing to gender pay gap issues. However, the study’s findings conclude that the United States has a higher gap than other countries largely due to the high wage inequality in the country. This raises the question of government policies in influencing the gaps as highlighted by Smith and Villa (2010) in their analysis of European Union policies influencing employment. The research findings also raise the issue of the development of a country and its relation to the level of gender pay gaps, a sentiment echoed by Mandel and Semyonov (2006). Having so much support from other sources within the research is a primary strength for this study, and makes it especially indispensable in this research. However, too much focus on the United States presents a challenge of committing generalization fallacies in extrapolating the findings and this research to the larger society.
Brandwein, A. R. (2012). Remember the women inequality is a women's issue. Journal of Women and Social Work, 27(1), 5-7
This study is all about data related to women’s situation in terms of the that effect gender pay gap, inequality issues, among other factors, have disenfranchising women. It presents a one-stop research from which one can get worldly acknowledged information about the position of women in the society and the impact that inequality has had on gender. Consequently, the research fits well as it will be of importance in the introductory part of the document in which the researcher will develop a basis for the research question, and prove the importance of the study. It is the study based upon which most arguments in the paper will be made, in addition to offering reinforcing support for the rest of the research conducted in the paper. One of the primary issues raised and determined in the study is that women have an annual median income equating to 77% that of men. As such, the study offers data that will be of help throughout the study as the research restates the concept of gender gap as a key issue in the society and one that needs urgent addressing. Use of secondary data in the research is the primary weakness of the study as the audience has no way of following through with the calculations leading to the figures included in the study. On the other hand, the precise nature in which the data is presented makes it easily readable, which is a strength of the study.
Kiekkas, P., Igoumenidis, M., Stefanopoulos, N., Bakalis, N., Kefaliakos, A., & Aretha, D. (2016). Gender bias favors female nursing students in the written examination evaluation: Crossover study. Nurse Education Today, 45, 57-62.
The research herein is a firsthand experimental study in which the researchers aimed to establish the prevalence and extent to which gender disparities inform actions that could lead to significant economic consequences. It involved evaluation of the marking system of tests given to nurses in which the scholars hoped to analyze the existence of bias in awarding grades to the different gender. The study is especially important in this research as it highlights some of the possible economic effects of gender disparities in the society and gives weight to the suggestions to be issued on possible policies that could help improve the issue of gender disparities in determining the wages awarded to employees.
Among the primary findings of the researchers was that female students had their scores significantly reduced after an impartial party marked the tests oblivious of the gender of the person for whom he or she was marking. Consequently, such a result implies that women are highly likely to get opportunities on account of educational qualification, but their productivity would betray the qualification levels due to presence of favoritism in passing the qualification threshold. This study will be important in explanation of the theory of human capital, upon which the study is based, and prove the existence of gender pay gaps as a social issue with impact extending to economic productivity.
Mandel, H., & Semyonov, M. (2005). Family policies, wage structures, and gender gaps: Sources of earnings inequality in 20 countries. American sociological review, 70(6), 949-967.
The scholars herein add to the list of those who have explored the impact of government policies on the level of gender pay gaps. In addition, the researchers also shed light on economic disparities between members of a household based on gender differences between families in developed and developing countries. Therefore, the research would be of use in explaining the current policies affecting gender pay gaps in the society. Further, the findings are also useful in explaining claims on the role of social norms in explaining the gaps. Consequently, the scholars found less differences in developed countries where there were highly developed family policies. In such countries, the members of the households have the right to economic enrichment, which makes sure that no family member is disadvantaged because of his or her gender. They all have an equal opportunity to earn and achieve equality in the level of pay earned. The research was based on information from twenty countries, which forms a significantly large sample, further improving the credibility of the assertions made by the scholars. However, their reliance on secondary data, with limited application of opinions of the individuals in these countries serves as a weakness of the study.
Oostendorp, R. H. (2009). Globalization and the gender wage gap. The World Bank Economic Review.
While Mandel and Semyonov may have focused their study on policies influencing the household, Oostendorp made his case using the data on economic development of the country in question and the level of gender pay gaps. The researcher found there to be less gaps in developed countries than in developing countries. The two studies are symmetrical in their analysis and useful in the explanation of possible effects or causes of gender pay gaps in the community. Notably, an improvement in gender pay gaps by use of government legislation would result in an economy in which income is better distributed, which would eventually increase equality and economic success. On the other hand, economic development is likely to increase availability of job opportunities, thereby reducing the gap between genders of the country’s citizens. Similar to the Mandel and Semyonov research, the use of a large number of sample countries increased the reliability of the study. However, the research is still incomplete since the factors within each country are not explored in depth.
Polachek, S. W. (2004). How the human capital model explains why the gender wage gap narrowed.
Polachek intended to use his study as a yardstick for the explanation of the effects of differences in interests, perceptions, and capabilities of women and men in explaining the differences in gender pay gaps over the years. This is a study that examines changes in the gender gaps over the twentieth century and the early twenty first century. Consequently, the research is especially useful in this study on gender and remuneration parity as it explains a possible cause of the difference with other studies used in the research establishing that social factors play a petite role in influencing the experienced differences. One of the scholar’s findings is that, as interests between men and women decrease, the gender pay gap decreases as well. Consequently, the research is especially influential in the study due to the use of a scholarly acknowledged study to make the explanation. However, the use of secondary data in making the conclusions serves as a weakness of the research. The data used in the previous studies, upon which Polachek based his analysis, may not work well into the contemporary explanation of the human capital model.
Ridgeway, C. L., & Correll, S. J. (2004). Unpacking the gender system a theoretical perspective on gender beliefs and social relations. Gender & society, 18(4), 510-531.
The research aimed at explaining the role of societal beliefs in perceptions of the society on gender. It serves as an effective source of information upon which to lay a foundation of the study herein by providing proof of the extent of inequality. Consequently, one of the primary assertions of the research is that gender inequality is largely entrenched within cultural systems in a society. Therefore, even as the political class explores options to improve gender pay issues, there should also be focus on the role of the community in explaining the differences. This study goes contrary to most of the other studies included in this research in which differences human capital model was perceived to be the primary determinant of differences in gender pay. It will come in handy in providing alternative explanations to the issue in the research paper. Notably the use of previous studies in the study makes this research sound and reliable for use in the gender pay equality research paper. However, lack of empirical support serves as a weakness, reducing its effectiveness.
Smith, M., & Villa, P. (2010). The ever‐declining role of gender equality in the European Employment Strategy. Industrial Relations Journal, 41(6), 526-543.
Smith and Villa’s study aims at expounding on the role of policies in perceptions on gender and, therefore, on efforts to close the gender pay gap. Such an effort would eventually lead to gender parity in terms of remuneration in the workplace. The research follows actions in the European Union exploring the effects of the European Employment Strategy changes in 2005 and 2010. The research is of use in this study as it explicitly highlights on the current policies that have an effect on the topic of discussion. Notably, the researcher found out that changes in the 2010 revision of the EES resulted in a decreased focus on gender pay gap, which could eventually affect the legislative body’s efforts to compel employers to adhere to codes that would promote equality. Therefore, the study shows the existence of laxity in policy-making organs in the society, a factor that could as well explain Twenge’s et al. (2012) finding that the social norms in the society have little effect on the gender pay gaps. The primary strength of the study herein is its address of contemporary world issues, which makes it especially applicable in solving current issues surrounding gender pay gap. However, lack of firsthand data in the study makes it not as reliable as it would have been had the scholars used the same.
Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Gentile, B. (2012). Male and female pronoun use in US books reflects women’s status, 1900–2008. Sex roles, 67(9-10), 488-493.
The research herein is a textual analysis of the use of female pronouns in publications made between the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The researchers hoped to provide information on the possibility of societal change over the years towards increased appreciation of female success. Therefore, the study would be of importance in the research in explaining the role of societal perceptions in determining gender pay gaps. Notably, where the society believes in women being secondary to men, then the chances of a large gap remain high. The study will be used in relation to Brandwein’s (2012) findings that women’s median income is about three times less than that of men. It is a critical study in explaining the role of the society’s perception on women on their remuneration in the workplace. Among the primary findings of the research is that there has been an increase in the frequency of use of female pronouns in publications in which the female characters are deemed successful in the modern day publications. Such is an indicator of improved perception of women in the society. It would imply that, if societal norms were to be considered, the chances are that the gender pay gap would be small.