by Linda Ann Nickerson

Created on: January 12, 2008

PAYMENT ON PAR

Should American companies pay women the same wages or salaries as they pay their male counterparts? Of course they should!

Equal work warrants equal pay. Unless job descriptions, on-the-job performance, seniority, experience, qualifications or other wage-related issues apply, employees should earn similar pay. Merit may affect pay levels. Value added to the employer's business may affect earnings. But gender, age, race, religion and other personal issues should not.

START SHOPPING.

Do retail establishments charge women lower rates than they charge men? No way! Everyone pays the same prices!

Suppose a man and a woman enter a grocery store at the same time. Both of them purchase milk, eggs, bread and ice cream. (After all, who ever leaves a store without ice cream?) They carry their items to adjacent checkout stands.

Let's assume they selected the same brands, sizes and versions of all items. Will their register tape totals be the same or different?

SCAN A STATEMENT.

Do utilities, credit card companies, banks, home sellers, mortgage holder or other organizations offer different rates for male or female clients? Duh!

If they did, they would be charged with discrimination!

Suppose a man and a women occupy adjacent apartments in a downtown building. The square footage is exactly the same. Will the landlord offer two different rental rates? Not on your life!

ESCHEW OLD ARGUMENTS.

In ages past, many employers maintained that male workers should be paid higher wages than females, simply because men had to support their families.

Times have changed. A woman is nearly as likely to shoulder the responsibility for supporting the family as a man. In fact, many women fund their families alone, as single parents.

So why should women have to work more hours for the same pay?

COMPARE COSTS.

A dollar is a dollar is a dollar. And an hour is an hour is an hour. If employees work a specified number of hours, then fairness dictates that they should be paid the same number of dollars. After all, isn't the employer realizing the same amount of profits from each worker?

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