Determining Wages: Factors and Gender Discrimination

Is There a Proper And Appropriate Wage For a Particular Kind Of Work?

What Should Determine a Worker’s Wage?

The amount paid in exchange of the work done by the employer to the employee is known as wage. Wage rates depends on the traditions and structure of different economies. It is influenced by the legislations and market forces such as supply and demand. Even the wage rates differ on the basis of gender and age.

Wages are prices paid to the workers. Though, they are different from the other prices. It is essential to set a minimum wage for the workers. Otherwise there may be manipulation that may result in loss for the employees and workers. The minimum wage is provided to protect the right for the fair wage (Gwartney, Stroup and Ferrarini, 2016). Many countries of the world introduced a price floor, below which labor will not be sold. Here, government regulations plays a pivotal role. The salaries and wages paid by the employers is based on the labor policies and laws mandated by the government of the country. The wages are determined on the basis of the occupation. Other than this experience, location and education also matters in case of determining the wages. The wages of a worker should be based on cost of living. Otherwise it would be difficult for the worker to lead a health life. The consumer price index and increase or decrease in general price level plays a vital role in determination of wages (Blau, 2016). The perception of recipient is also important in case of wage determination. Every employee has a wage expectation according to the market and fellow co-workers. The supply of labor in the market also influences the wages of the workers. On the contrary, the supply of labor is regulated by the labor unions. Therefore, collective bargaining of the labor union helps to set a fair wage for the workers.

According to the labor statistics, it is found out that, wages of women are comparatively lower than their male counterpart. It is evident in all countries of the world. Therefore, there exists a huge discrimination between different genders (Huang, 2018). Hence, it is a type of social discrimination that should be controlled. According to the Census Bureau of 2017, the median annual earnings of the women are less than the men by $10,086 in United States (US). In addition, for each dollar a man earn, the woman earn 80.5% of it. Therefore, the wage discrimination which is not desirable increases the social disparity.

The main objective of an employer is to get best labor at a lower cost. Therefore, the organization will always try to get labor at a cheaper costs. The basic motive of an organization is to maximize profit (Kuroki, 2018). In order to maximize increasing the productivity is essential. Likewise, efficient labor at a lower wage would scale up the productivity of the organization. Hence, the organization always seek for an efficient labor at a cheaper cost. This will in turn scale up the wages of those workers.

Conclusion

There are various factors that determines the wages of the workers. Moreover, there is discrimination in wages among different genders.

References

Blau, F. D. (2016). Gender, inequality, and wages. OUP Catalogue.

Gwartney, James; Stroup, Lee and Ferrarini, (3rd ed., 2016). Common Sense Economics, New York: St. Martin’s Press

Huang, C. (2018). Why Are US Women Decreasing Their Labor Force Participation If Their Wages Are Rising?. Economic Inquiry, 56(4), 2010-2026.

Kuroki, M. (2018). Subjective well‐being and minimum wages: Evidence from US states. Health economics, 27(2), e171-e180.