Gender Pay Gap: U.S v.s Japan

In the humanities course at my high school we are talking extensively about gender equality. We’ve met with many people and visited a couple of organizations to get a better understanding about the issues of gender equality. One person that we talked to was professor Hewitt of Oakton community college. The main organization that we were looking at was the Center On Halsted. We went there to get a closer look at what different communities were doing to address the issue of gender inequality, while also providing a safe place for community members to go. Gender non-conforming people, straight people, gay people and really anybody that wanted to come. One of the main issues regarding gender equality that came up was the gender pay gap. The gender pay gap has been in existence for quite some time. So why is it still here? The U.S has done very little to demolish this issue, while other countries, like Japan, have done a really good amount to ensure that gender equality is existent.


Source: Somusho Tokei-kyoku [Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications], Rodoryoku chosa (Kihon shukei) Heisei 26nen (2014 nen) 6 gatsu bun[Labour Force Survey (Basic Data), June 2014], accessed on August 6, 2014.

The gender pay gap is a man to woman pay ratio. It is generally interpreted as what a woman makes versus what a man makes. How many cents a woman makes to every man’s dollar. Many people don’t know what the gender pay gap is. This is a huge issue around the world that must be resolved. The U.S and Japan are two countries that I am excited to see what progress has been made.

As I said before the gender pay gap is a really big issue around the world today. Within the countries I've researched, out of all of the countries that attempted to eradicate the issue of gender equality, Japan was the closest to achieving that goal. In 1994 women made 63 percent of what men made in Japan. That is only about 2,157 dollars in one month. Since then the gender pay gap was reduced to having women earn 73% of what me made. That is not that much progress, but is still significant.

Throughout my research and knowledge, the U.S has done very little to actually improve the man to woman pay ratio. The only thing that I have come across in relation to the U.S and the gender pay gap is the equal rights amendment. The equal rights amendment was passed on march 22, 1972 by the U.S and sent to the states for ratification. The amendment was first brought to the women’s political party in 1923. It was supposed to provide legal equality of all sexes and prevent discrimination of sex.

Overall the two countries, Japan and the U.S have much work to do regarding the basis of gender equality. There has been a little bit of action from both countries, but not enough. The U.S passed the equal rights act. Japan worked individually with citizens. We can all do better to be careful with our assessments of people and their sexes. I hope I was able to help you all understand.

Work Cited:
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Japan-s-gender-wage-gap-persists-despite-progress2

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/equal-rights-amendment-passed-by-congress

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