The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, women joining the workforce, two income households, the Fair Labor Standards Act, exploitation in the workplace, labor disputes
The nineteen sixties were a time of change in the world and especially in America, where Vietnam protests and demands for civil rights had taken off. In this time of change the sixties saw women in greater numbers demanding the same rights as men and one of those rights was the ability to join the workforce. As members of the workforce, women argued that they had the right to receive pay equal to those of their male contemporaries and hence the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act was put into law on June 10th, 1963. This act has had a broad number of implications not only on society, but on the economy since adding a whole other sector to the workforce broadened the economy.
[...] The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act forces employers to pay women what they are worth and because of this fact, the Act gave women an incentive to work harder in the workplace. It helped make women even more valuable members of any working team and because of this employers were given a greater number of employees to choose from. In the book Taking Sides McKenna and Feingold discuss a Knowledge based economy. A knowledge based economy, they argue, allows all people to explore any career path they chose free of educational restraints and closed institutions. [...]
[...] The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act also helped to settle labor disputes. This not only made it easier for companies to hire women, but it helped keep labor disputes out of companies by giving them something to point to. Labor disputes have been known to harm the economy by tying up a company's time and resources in things like frivolous lawsuits. In order to combat these types of problems the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act helped to ensure that companies could focus on what they needed to be focusing on instead of worrying about being tied up in any kind of labor or legal disputes. [...]
[...] Women working helped to put other women to work as nannies and daycare providers. This gave even more members of the United States economy a paycheck, which enabled them to go out and buy more things as well. As a result new products, like Levi's new brand of women's wear began to appear, furthering broadening the US economy. The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act had an impact on business just as it had an impact on individuals and families. [...]
[...] Little things were needed like extra money for lunch and coffee out and travel needs and work clothes. All these little things that had not been necessary before all of a sudden became something many families needed. Whereas before only a man needed a couple of nice work suites, now the woman in a household needed them as well. This kind of buying explosion had an impact on the economy that we see still today. It brought out whole new industries like women's work apparel and childcare institutions became more prevalent. [...]
[...] According to a study put out by the Population Reference Bureau, only seven percent of households in the United States at this time consist of married couples with only one working adult. The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, by helping women feel more welcome and more protected in the workforce by making them feel less exploited, brought about a significant change in the way families worked and made money. No longer did one paycheck pay the bills and because of that families had a lot more money to spend. The two person household enabled families to make ends meets a little easier. [...]
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