Fairness in Compensation for Women and Minorities

The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women and marginalized groups, which has brought to light the growing nature of the existing structural inequalities and fundamental issues in jobs and pay in the United States of America (USA). Women and the minority population groups have experienced a significant increase in harassment, violence, and verbal abuses in public spaces that have fueled the current issue of discrimination based on gender, nationality, and religion, among others, which has a put strain on the Sustainable development Goal (SDG) 10 that aims to reduce inequalities in the employment sectors. The NCBI notes that there are existing inequalities in employment that unequally affect marginalized groups. According to research conducted by the NCBI, “The COVID-19 pandemic…has showcased inequalities in decent work and experiences of discrimination resulting in many vulnerable populations in the US experiencing harsh economic and work-related factors” (2020).  Alon et al. (2020) note that the impacts of COVID-19 have devastatingly disproportioned women in the labor market with sectors with many female employees experiencing a high toll on job losses. Therefore, minority groups and women have lost more jobs and suffer from unpaid care, unlike men.   

Also, with the pandemic being a significant determinant in the economic and labor market, women and minorities are not fully represented among people exposed to adverse labor market outcomes. Flores et al. note that vulnerable and marginalized individuals are victims of oppression, and power, making them experience marginalization and discrimination (2020). People belonging to these two classes are not incorporated into occupations that expose them to contamination risk. Among the majority of workers at the forefront of fighting the epidemic, a higher percentage of them are women. In many cases, employees belonging to these two sections have been laid off, and others face unemployment or underemployment. Women and the minority groups, especially in informal and precarious jobs, are not offered benefits or compensations and are often victims of low wages, unlike men and majority groups who enjoy high compensations and salaries. Alon et al. (2020), states “initially labelled the ‘great equalizer, the COVID-19 pandemic is turning out to be anything but.” According to Robinson (2020), minority groups and women are unequal in the pandemic’s face in job titles and their respective payment industries. In this case, discrimination of women and minority groups in jobs and payment has been aggravated in the USA and not flattened as most US residents expected.

Alon, T., Doepke, M., Olmstead-Rumsey, J., & Tertilt, M. (2020). The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on gender equality | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal. Voxeu.org. Retrieved from https://voxeu.org/article/impact-coronavirus-pandemic-gender-equality

Flores L.Y., Martinez L.D., McGillen G.G., Milord J. Something old and something new: Future directions in vocational research with people of color in the United States. Journal of Career Assessment. 2019;27:187–208. doi: 10.1177/1069072718822461

Kantamneni, N. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized populations in the United States: A research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2020 Jun; 103439 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103439

Robinson, A. (2020). Commentary: COVID-19 is causing a backslide in workplace gender equality. Here is how to stop it. Fortune. Retrieved from https://fortune.com/2020/08/03/covid-19-working-moms-gender-equality-backslide/