Tellwut Online Survey Finds That 46% Of Working Women Have Experienced Gender Pay Discrimination

(PRWEB) May 22, 2013 Although women have made numerous strides and advancements within the workplace, studies reveal that women continue to receive significantly less pay for the same or similar position as their male counterparts. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, women with full-time positions earned 81% of what their male coworkers earned in 2012, worse than 2011 by a full percentage point. In an online survey conducted on Tellwut’s digital online marketing site, over 2,000 panel members were asked whether they felt that women living within North America were being paid less than their male counterparts. The results were striking. An overwhelming 65% of participants indicated that they believe that wage discrimination exists between male and female coworkers in the workplace. Only a mere 17% did not agree, while 18% were unsure. Though both women and men overwhelmingly agree that wage discrimination exists, it remains an offence that is difficult to rectify on both sides of the border. As well, with women earning 81% on average less than men and only 46% of women feeling that they had personally experienced wage discrimination, one can assume that pay disparities are often going unnoticed, exacerbating the issue. Although disparities in pay between men and women are deemed unethical by many, there are numerous reasons that enable wage disparity to prevail within the work place. One reason is that women are assumed to have “maternal priorities”. For instance, women leave work for a period of time (maternity leave) when they choose to start a family. In contrast, men don’t usually leave the workplace, which provides them greater opportunity to advance their careers at a faster pace. Due to the perception that women have “maternal priorities”, many women are choosing to have children later in life to prove that they can be working women and mothers at the same time. Indeed, it appears that the modern woman is expected or feels the need to do it all, often without equal pay. The online survey found that 55% of women agree that they cannot have a family and a career without significant sacrifice in both areas while 22% disagreed with this statement and 22% remained undecided. When women do make it to the top, they often times find themselves standing alone in a sea of men. In fact, it was not until 1999, that the tech giant Hewlett-Packard (HP), promoted Carly Fiorina as its new president and Chief Executive Officer. This was amazing considering that Carly would be the first female to hold one of the highest ranking positions (CEO) for a Fortune 500 company; an area heavily dominated by men. Although, this is a wonderful accomplishment, research has shown that even when women hold very senior positions, they nonetheless continue to get paid less than men. In fact, many women on top are earning 33 cents less for every dollar a man makes; a highly discriminatory practice. From the survey results, it is evident that pay discrimination is an injustice that often goes unnoticed. Although, there are laws created to prevent pay discrimination from occurring, they are difficult to enforce. Consequently, women often receive less pay for the same work as their male counterparts. In order to address pay discrimination within the work force, it is important that women become more vocal about their pay. In fact, studies have shown that women rarely ask for raises, while men are much more willing to ask for a raise. Though gender pay laws play an important role in pay equality, women must also advocate for themselves to move toward parity. About Tellwut(R). Tellwut is a North American community of individuals dedicated to expressing their opinions through online surveys based upon a wide variety of topics in exchange for rewards and the Tellwut community experience. The Tellwut community and proprietary survey and reward software application provide a platform for organizations to send surveys to their stakeholders or to crowdsource and conduct online market research through the use of the Tellwut survey platform and the Tellwut Community; thus allowing businesses a clearer understanding and insight into their products or services, customer attitudes and potential business opportunities.   To join our business e-newsletter list and get new ideas, special discounts, consumer insights, and much more, click here.