7 Ways Income Inequality Negatively Affects Women

Women on average make 79 cents to every dollar a man makes. This discrepancy between pay can lead to many negative effects on women and their everyday life. These effects extend well-beyond just the obvious; getting paid less. It can result in less education, fewer opportunities, and worsened mental health. Income inequality doesn’t just affect women either. It has an impact on children, significant others, and family. This inequality is spread far and wide among all different fields, education levels, and socioeconomic classes.

1. Less Money

Graph showing gender pay gap based on age

First and foremost, income inequality hurts women the most due to getting paid less than a male in the exact same position. Lower pay means not being able to afford the same things, as well as needing to work more hours to make the same as their male-equivalent. Another way this is shown in the workforce is by the forcing of women into more feminine jobs, like teacher, nurse, vet, etc. These jobs are known as being lower-paying than the male-dominated fields. I know growing up that I felt I had to choose a more "girly" job, as opposed to one in a STEM field. For research, I'd look at the statistics of gender in the different careers and the average wage of said fields.

2. Mental Health

Graphic showing different mental health conditions and disorders.

Many women get a lot of their self-confidence through their work, and when they feel they're not being appreciated or being compensated for their work, it can take a great tole on their mental health. It can lead you to feeling angry, frustrated, and exhausted having to go to work every day when you don't feel valued. I work at a tip wage, so when I'm not making a lot in tips I feel frustrated and feel like I'm being undervalued for my effort. For research, I'd look into studies about the correlation between the gender pay gap and mental health as well as simply the correlation between money and mental health.

3. Family Life

Children dancing and playing.

Children can be a lot to handle, and as a working mother you may not be able to be home all the time to take care of them. Due to the pay gap, you may have to work more hours to be able to afford childcare services like a babysitter or daycare. Along with this, working more hours may make it difficult to have a good work and family balance. I may not have kids but I have a dog, and I know it's very difficult caring for her when I have to work long hours. I'd research statistics on the amount the average woman has to work to be able to afford childcare.

4. Work Opportunities

Man in an interview.

The gender pay gap could lead to fewer opportunities in the workplace. This could be due to the steering of women to certain career paths or promoting men over women, both causing the discrepancies in pay between the genders. I personally have seen higher-paying positions being held by men simply because they were men. For research, I'd look into the differences in promotion rates between the genders as well as the likelihood of men being chosen over women for specific jobs, fields, and positions.

5. Education Opportunities

A University in Vienna.

Women getting paid less, may not be able to afford the same educational opportunities that men can, therefore widening the pay gap when men can get higher paying jobs because of their better education. I couldn't afford to go to an Ivy League School, but someone who could have, would have greater and higher-paying opportunities than I might have. The same can be said for women who aren't making as much, not having access to more expensive educations. For research, I'd look into the gender demographic of less-expensive schools versus more-expensive schools.

6. Healthcare

Graph showing the expenditure of health as a percent of GDP

Women making less having less access to affordable healthcare. This could be because they were pushed into a "gender-normative" career, that may not offer health insurance. It could also be because they aren't making enough to afford doctors visits, health insurance, etc. I went to the dentist recently and was told the work I needed was going to be almost $2,000 and that was with insurance. How are women supposed to afford stuff like that when they aren't making the amount they should be? For research, I'd look up studies on how many people in America can afford health insurance and how that correlates to income inequality.

7. Treatment from Others

Man yelling at woman.

In a workplace where two people doing the same job but have different pay, hostility can happen between those people if one feels they are better or above the other. Men can feel as though they are better or worth more than the women in their workplace and treat them as below them because of it. In my workplace, when someone gets tipped more, they like to say it's because they're better servers than the rest of us and that can lead to arguments and conflict between people. For research, I'd talk to women about how they're treated by men in their workplaces.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, income inequality hurts women in numerous ways as shown above. I feel I've learned more about how women are affected by this, not just by getting paid less but how that impacts other areas of life as well. This issue is important because women are given unequal opportunities in many aspects of life and its unfair and needs to be taken more seriously. I feel that often when discussing the gender wage gap, the blame is shifted towards women choosing lower-paying jobs, such as teacher, nurse, vet, etc. But we really need to be talking about at why women are pushed into these jobs. And also why they're paid less than men in all jobs, including male-centric fields.

**************************************************************

Statistics

Word count: 960

Error count: 4

Error density: 1%