Comparable+Worth+in+Gender+Studies

Abstract from the article
Comparable worth, also known as pay equity, corrects for the gender-based wage gap that stems from occupational segregation. Compensation practices are infused with cultural stereotypes about the value of male and female work. Pay equity combats wage discrimination by requiring that female and male jobs of equivalent worth to the employer are paid equally. Job evaluation orders jobs based on diverse content characteristics. It is the institutional mechanism that perpetuates wage discrimination. Evaluation systems are often corrupted by gender bias. Comparable worth requires gender neutral job evaluation systems that describe and evaluate all jobs systematically and consistently and that uncover aspects of female work that have historically remained invisible. Despite the technical gains made in the creation of gender neutral job evaluation systems, these systems are rarely used to achieve pay equity in the United States. Comparable worth opponents have been reasonably successful in containing the impact of pay equity to the detriment of women workers. In spite of this containment, hundreds of thousands of people performing women's work have benefited from significant wage adjustments since the introduction of pay equity. Literature review: