Affirmative Action and Gender Issues

- tips for mod 3

PAFPAF 101101

“Be ever soft and pliable like a reed, not hard and unbending like a cedar.”

~The Talmud

Module 3, Lecture 2

Is Affirmative Action a problem?

No! It is a . . .

What’s the Problem

Racial DiscriminationRacial InequalityLack of DiversityImpact of Poverty on Economic Opportunity

Socio-Economic Discrimination

Colgate: “It would not work to use socio-economic measures instead of race because that would cut out the middle class students who are most likely to succeed.”

Meritocracy versus

Democracy

Workforce Gender Discrimination

Is it a societal problem? What is bad about it?Is there anything good about it?

Some Downside to Growing Gender Equality

Women are catching up to dying almost as soon as men.

Men are dropping out of high school and college. SU use to be 50-50 and is now 45-55.

Example of 5.1-5.2 Gender Wage Issue

5.1 Women make less money than men for the same job and this limits the economic opportunity for women.

5.2 Evidence of the Problem1. Trend line showing wage differential

between 1985 and 1995.

2. Wage differences by job shown in a table.

3. Quote from an expert.

Weekly Earning by Sex/Occupation, 2002

2002 Salaries By Occupation and Gender³

Occupation#’s in thousands

# of Men Employed

Median Weekly Salary

# of WomenEmployed

Median Weekly Salary

Median WeeklyDifference

Managerial/Professional Specialty

43,773 $540 56,431 $680 $140

Technical/Sales 10,869 $699 16,990 $490 $209

Administrative Support 3,312 $583 10,683 $488 $95

Service Occupations 5,554 $445 5,998 $343 $102

Operators/Laborers 11,449 $511 3,147 $385 $126

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor, 2002

5.3 CausesDiscrimination by male eliteHistorical lagMale dominated jobs pay moreDemands of parenting break career patterns.

Example of 5.3 Gender Wage Issue

Is the Wage Gap Changing?

Women’s Pay as a Percent of Men’s4

Year Percent

1951 63.9

1961 59.2

1971 59.5

1981 59.2

1991 69.9

1992 70.8

1993 71.5

1994 72.0

1995 71.4

1996 73.8

1997 74.2

1998 73.2

1999 72.2

2000 73.0

2001 76.0

2002 76.0

The median Difference: The median annual salary for men is $37,000 while for women it is only $29,000 creating an $8,000 differential.

According to National Averages in 2002 – FOR EVERY DOLLAR A MAN MAKES A WOMAN WITH COMPARABLE SKILLS IN A SIMILAR POSITION WILL ONLY MAKE 76 CENTS. 4

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2003

Example of 5.5 Gender Wage Issue5.5A5.5A Role of Business

Company Women’s Advancement

Family Benefits

Ben and Jerry’s

A: women are 50% of senior managers and 30% of professional staff

A: paid leave for parents, child care, phased return to work for new mothers.

Alberto-Culver (V05 and Static Guard)

F: 4 of 24 Corporate Officers were women, 2 women on Board of Directors (founding family members)

F: 12 week paid medical leave, part-time return to work after leave, child care referral services.

5.5B5.5B Role of Non- Profits Regional Learning Service—displaced homemakersChild Care CouncilOrganization mentioned in How You Can Help

Example of 5.5B Gender Wage Issue

Relating Ch.5 to Ch.6Preparing A Policy Proposal

Ameliorating the problem identified in 5.1

Improving conditions identified in 5.2

Addressing causes listed in 5.3

Recognizing existing policies in 5.4

Having an impact on the private and non-profit sectors in 5.5

Using Chapter 5 exercises as a base, develop three proposed policies and select one aimed at: