Final answer:
The gender wage gap persists due to historical power imbalances and side-effect discrimination, with women often earning less for the same work as men. Conflict theory explains this as a struggle for dominance with men creating rules that benefit themselves. Addressing the wage gap requires enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, societal change, and support for women in high-earning careers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Gender Wage Gap: A Theoretical Analysis
On average, men earn more money than women for the same job, even when they have equivalent levels of education and experience. From the conflict theory perspective, this is because society is a struggle for dominance among social groups, and men have historically held power, creating rules that benefit themselves. The gender pay gap is, in part, maintained by side-effect discrimination, where women are impacted by socio-cultural factors such as upbringing in states with sexist attitudes, as well as economic factors like the devaluation of work fields as they become more feminized.
Concrete examples include the case of Wal-Mart, where a sex discrimination suit highlighted direct wage discrimination. Additionally, women often engage in unpaid domestic work, which exacerbates their economic disadvantage. Historically, shifts in the labor force during events like World War II changed family and societal structures, later influencing norms related to gender roles in paid and unpaid work.
To reduce the gender wage gap and improve women's socioeconomic status in the U.S. and globally, enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, support for women pursuing high-earning careers, societal attitude shifts, and equal sharing of domestic responsibilities are crucial. Policies aimed at providing access to education and fostering an inclusive work environment are fundamental in achieving this goal.