Unequal Work Unequal Pay

1. In "Unequal Work for Unequal Pay," Elinor Burkett discusses how certain workers at many different compaines are treated unfairly because of the introduction of "family-friendly benefits" (Burkett 507). These benefits often include on-site daycare, a few months to a few years of paid leave, and coroporate scholarships. Companies have introduced these benefits to decrease tardiness and absenteeism and to promote loyalty and productivity while giving the company a positive image. The only workers that may take advantage of these "family-friendly" benefits, however, are workers who are parents of a newborn or young child. Workers who are single and do not have a family are at a disadvantage because the benefits they can use are not nearly as valuable as those of a worker with a family. Because of this unfairness, the morale of single workers is lowered as they do more work but get paid the same amount as a worker with children. The following quote is part of the "Ten Commandments of workplace etiquette in family-friendly America" (Burkett 509) that Burkett creates describing how this unfair treatment makes a single worker feel. "6. Thou shalt never ask for a long leave to write a book, travel, or fulfill thy heart's desire because no desire other than children could possibly be worth thy company's inconvenience." (Burkett 510) The only event that is crucial enough for a worker to go on a long leave is when he or she has to take care of a child. Anything else is not worth the company's inconvenience.

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