Comparable worth (economics)

Comparable worth, also known as pay equity or sex equity, is a method for narrowing the pay gap between men and women in the United States. Under comparable worth, employers align job salaries to a scale that assigns points to particular factors. In theory, using such a scale allows employers to judge the actual amount of work a job requires. Jobs that seem dissimilar at first glance may actually involve a similar amount of work and therefore deserve a similar amount of compensation.

History of Comparable Worth

Throughout history, women in the United States have been paid less than men. In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, which established a legal precedent of equal pay for equal work. The law prohibited sex-based wage discrimination by requiring employers to pay male and female employees engaged in the same type of work equally. On its surface, the law appears to eliminate the wage gap between men and women; however, it had little impact.

Studies indicate that the wage gap persisted because men and women generally work in different occupations; certain occupations (e.g., nurse, teacher, child care worker) are predominantly female, while others (e.g., truck driver, engineer, contractor) are predominantly male. In addition, because job skills typically associated with female-dominated occupations have been undervalued throughout history, those occupations tend to pay lower wages than male-dominated occupations.

In the 1970s, advocates began to tout comparable worth as the solution to the gender wage gap. The idea behind comparable worth is that employers would evaluate jobs according to factors such as education, responsibilities, abilities, effort, stress level, and working conditions. These factors would align to a point scale, which an employer would use to determine the worth of a job. Employers would then base salaries on a job's worth. Jobs earning the same amount of points would pay approximately the same salary.

Comparable worth has remained a controversial topic since its introduction. The federal government has not yet passed any comparable worth laws, but some states and cities have enacted such legislation for workers in the public sector.

Support for Comparable Worth

Estimates vary, but several studies suggest that full-time female workers earn between $0.77 and $0.93 for every $1.00 that male workers earn. Comparable worth would, supporters believe, narrow the pay gap between men and women in the United States by paying them equally for comparable work. Comparable worth advocates do not want to change the hierarchy, complexity, or evaluation system used to determine salaries in male-dominated occupations. Rather, they want to modify the way jobs traditionally held by women are evaluated so the salaries for those jobs better reflect their complexity and worth.

Comparable worth supporters point out that employers in the United States have used various job-evaluation systems for more than a century. They argue, however, that such systems have consistently undercut the value of work in occupations dominated by women. Additionally, studies have shown that the more women gravitate toward a particular occupation, the lower salaries for that occupation become.

Comparable worth advocates believe that sex-based wage gaps are unjust because all people should be treated fairly. Supporters claim that such wage discrepancies can lead to resentment, reduce employees' quality of work, and strain relationships between men and women. Because of the disproportionate salaries between male-dominated and female-dominated occupations, many women earn too little to support a family and must depend on public assistance programs to make ends meet. Advocates argue that comparable worth would not only alleviate this problem but also would benefit society by lowering taxes that pay for such programs.

Ultimately, advocates think that implementing comparable worth would increase salaries in female-dominated occupations and eliminate the wage gap.

Opposition to Comparable Worth

Detractors believe that comparable worth would have a negative impact on employment and the economy. They argue that the implementation of comparable worth would place a burden on employers by forcing them to increase employee salaries. Many believe that employers would look for ways to recoup these costs—for example, by eliminating jobs or automating processes. As a result, workers would actually have fewer opportunities to find or keep jobs in female-dominated occupations.

Opponents also argue that comparable worth would interfere with the free market system and would damage the economy. As the supply of workers interested in a particular occupation increases, the demand for workers in those occupations begins to decrease, and salaries tend to fall. On the other hand, when the supply of workers interested in a particular occupation is small, the demand for those workers tends to increase, and salaries for those jobs tend to rise. Comparable worth uses an evaluative system to determine the worth of a job and set a salary accordingly, regardless of market conditions. Therefore, comparable worth would undermine the free market system that drives the U.S. economy.

Comparable worth opponents also provide reasons to explain the gender wage gap. They claim that women may choose to work in any occupation they want. If women want to earn higher salaries, they could pursue careers in fields where salaries tend to be higher. It just so happens that women tend to gravitate toward fields where salaries are lower. Opponents also point out that women are more likely than men to leave their occupations temporarily—and sometimes permanently—when they have children, often contributing further to the wage gap.

Bibliography

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