Gender Issue Debates Concerning Equal Pay

Under the idea of comparable worth, compensation should be based on the worth of the job to an employer and that factors unrelated to the worth of a job, in this case gender, should not affect compensation. As long as an individual can perform his or her job adequately, compared with the performance of his or her coworkers, then gender should not be an issue, although employers tend to underpay females simply because of their gender. This isn't because of any spite, instead it is mere politics and economics: if the pay is cut, while the workload and work output remains constant, then there is a greater chance to reap greater profits, and since women have been traditionally disadvantaged in the work force, employers indulge in this act more freely. Yet, even though people comprehend that this is not morally right, the procedure is practised in order to financially better themselves, in a business sense. The way that it should be is that pay should depend upon the worth of the job to the employer, and how well the employee performs his or her tasks, compared to the margin with which the other employees perform the same task, so that this measures the worth of the employee and determines whether they are expendable, replaceable, and hence inadequate. Simply put, if one employer outperforms another, and if it is more costly to the employer to replace or fire that employee, then the pay of that employee should reflect this, regardless of gender.