Assignment # 10 Part B
Part B
In Michelle Budig and Paula England’s essay, “The Wage Penalty for Motherhood,” they both present the arguments of why our society penalizes mothers by paying them lower wages than their male counterparts. Budig and England present us with the data that supports the link between motherhood and low wages and why we should care. They tell us that it’s not only a large issue that symbolizes gender inequality that has always existed but because it has a lifetime effect on our society. The following are the causes of why women in their childbearing years have lower hourly pay:
The first cause is believed to be because of the lost of job experience. As the mother needs to be away from work and stay at home to take care of the children, in return creates the break of employment. It is believed that mothers lose job experience with the interruption of work, as it stops the involvement of the on-the-job training. As per Buding and England, there are studies that show that continuation and experience may influence higher pay (205).
The second cause is that motherhood reduces job effort and productivity. Children take up a lot of time, which in return leaves the mother exhausted and distracted from work. Working mothers are considered to be less productive at work because they are always more concern with what is happening with their children rather than concentrating on their jobs. It is believed that non-mothers have more time for leisure and therefore have more energy for paid work.
The third cause is believed to be that mothers trade off higher wage jobs for “mother friendly” jobs that support their parenting. Mothers need to have flexible jobs that allow them to have time to take care of their children. They often settled for less paying jobs so they can have flexible hours, pay sick leave and vacation.
The fourth cause is that they are discriminated by their employers. They often place mothers in less rewarding jobs. If there is chance of a promotion they will likely give that job to woman who doesn’t have kids as they are viewed as more dependable and productive.
The fifth cause is the effects of motherhood on wages. They argue that lower wages leads to having more children. They are less interested in affluence therefore are more likely to have more children. As they find themselves valuing their family more than money.
Budig and England concluded that motherhood leads to employment breaks. That through time the lack the accumulation of work experience and seniority, which in return diminish the pension payments needed for retirement. We should be concentrating on “caring labor” that ultimately increases the level of care for the next generation (205).
