Many might already know that women are more inclined to take out a payday loan, but the reasons behind the prevalence of female borrowers might be less overt. While a variety of factors contribute to this phenomenon, including parental status and age, income is one of the primary reasons that women seek out payday loans, possibly due to wage discrepancies in the work place.
During the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama alluded to the ‘glass ceiling’ to call attention to the pay gap that still exists between male and female employees. The ‘glass ceiling’ is an economic metaphor that refers to the visible but impenetrable barrier that keeps women from rising in the business world. While such a metaphor might seem outdated in modern day society, studies have shown that women still face obstacles when it comes to receiving equal pay for equal work, despite an increase in educated and employable women in society.
A recent survey of nearly 10,000 MBA graduates revealed that one’s sex plays a significant role in salary and career development. The study, which was performed by the non-profit organization Catalyst, demonstrates that male MBA graduates are more likely to start off in higher positions and average a higher salary than their female counterparts with the same qualifications. The CEO of Catalyst, Ilene Lang, confirmed that women make nearly $ 5,000 less than men in post-MBA positions. Additionally, the pay gap appears to grow over time of employment, and can increase to a nearly 40 % discrepancy 10 to 15 years into a career. Clearly, the glass ceiling is still in place.
Admittedly, the wage gap has gotten smaller in the past decade; with more women entering the work force, seeking higher education opportunities, and demanding equal rights, pay discrepancies between men and women have been reduced. Recent legislature has similarly helped to eliminate the pay gap. Yet, the playing field hasn’t been totally equalized.
In Washington, strides are being made to eradicate wage discrepancies among the sexes. A few years ago, President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, a law that allows women to more easily challenge unequal pay. In her DNC speech, Michelle Obama gave kudos to Lilly Ledbetter, redrawing national attention to Ledbetter’s bill and the women’s rights it helped secure. In doing so, Obama helped to revamp the fight for employment equality.
Similarly, other political organizations have been fighting to secure equal pay for women. Despite the Equal Pay Act, which has been on the books since 1963, in 2008 women were still making only 77 cents to every dollar that men make for comparable employment. To challenge this difference, many acts have been presented to congress, such as the Fair Paycheck Act, yet few have actually been passed. Thus, while the wage gap has started to close, there are still obstacles blocking women’s progress toward equal pay and equal employment.
Equal wage rights in the work force may help reduce female reliance on fast cash options such as payday loans and credit card advances. Being that women are the largest demographic to frequent payday loan lenders, and thus most inclined acquire the associated debt, it is imperative that women’s rights organizations and politicians continue to bring awareness to the wage discrepancies that still exist today.