Comparable worth pay

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Comparable worth pay

by sam2304 » Fri May 18, 2012 4:43 am
Comparable worth, as s standard applied to eliminate inequities in pay, insists that the values of certain tasks performed in dissimilar jobs can be compared. In the last decade, this approach has become a critical social policy issue, as large numbers of private-sector firms and industries as well as federal, state, and local governmental entities have adopted comparable worth policies or begun to consider doing so .

This widespread institutional awareness of comparable worth indicates increased public awareness that pay inequities-that is, situations in which pay is not "fair" because it does not reflect the true value of a job-exist in the labor market. However, the question still remains: have the gains already may pay equity under comparable worth principles been of a precedent-setting nature or are they mostly transitory, a function of concessions made by employers to mislead female employees into believing that they have made long-term pay equity gains?

Comparable worth pay adjustments are indeed precedent-setting. Because of the principles driving them, other mandates that can be applied to reduce or eliminate unjustified pay gaps between male and female workers have not remedied perceived pay inequities satisfactorily for the litigants in cases in which men and women hold different jobs. But whenever comparable worth principles are applied to pay schedules, perceived unjustified pay differences are eliminated. In this sense, then, comparable worth is more comprehensive than other mandates, such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. neither compares tasks in dissimilar jobs (that is , jobs across occupational categories) in an effort to determine whether or not what is necessary to perform these tasks-know-how, problem-solving, and accountability-can be quantified in terms of its dollar value to the employer. Comparable worth, on the other hand, takes as its premise that certain tasks in dissimilar jobs may require a similar amount of training, effort, and skill; may carry similar responsibility; may be carried on in an environment having s similar impact upon the worker; and may have s similar dollar value to the employer.

1. It can be inferred from the passage that application of "other mandate" (see highlighted text) would be unlikely to result in an outcome satisfactory to the female employees in which of the following situations?

I: males employed as long-distance truck drivers for a furniture company make $3.50 more per hour than do females with comparable job experience employed in the same capacity.
II: women working in the office of a cement company contend that their jobs are as demanding and valuable as those of the men working outside in the cement factory, but the women are paid much less per hour.
III: a law firm employs both male and female paralegals with the same educational and career backgrounds, but the same salary for male paralegals is $5,000 more than female paralegals.

A. I only
B. II only
C. III only
D: I and II only
E: I and III only

Please explain your pick. This is from GMATPrep
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by ice_rush » Fri May 18, 2012 5:27 pm
I'd go with choice (B)....What's the OA? If it is correct, I can try to explain my reasoning.

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by sam2304 » Fri May 18, 2012 7:18 pm
Yes you are right. OA is B. I chose the exact opposite, option D. I am not sure whether I understood the question. How did you eliminate the other options ?
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by penguinfoot » Sat May 19, 2012 11:25 am
I choose Option (E) -> Oh boy, i am way too wrong !
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by ice_rush » Sat May 19, 2012 2:15 pm
if you notice the 3 scenarios, you'd see that scenario 1 and 3 are similar in nature and scenario 2 is not. So right off the bat you can eliminate all choices, but (B) and (E)...at this point even if you don't understand what the passage is saying you have a 50% chance of choosing the correct answer.

Said that..here's my reasoning for (B): other mandates that can be applied to reduce or eliminate unjustified pay gaps between male and female workers have not remedied perceived pay inequities satisfactorily for the litigants in cases in which men and women hold different jobs...further the passage gives example of 2 such mandates and we are told that neither compares tasks in dissimilar jobs

so basically, the application of other mandates does not help us determine the pay difference between men and women in different job roles...and choice (B) is that scenario where men and women ARE in different job roles.


hope this helps!

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by sam2304 » Sat May 19, 2012 7:04 pm
I get it now. Thanks ice_rush. Both seemed to be cement factory and I din't notice the 'inside' and 'outside' terms very carefully :)
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by penguinfoot » Sat May 19, 2012 7:09 pm
ice_rush wrote:if you notice the 3 scenarios, you'd see that scenario 1 and 3 are similar in nature and scenario 2 is not. So right off the bat you can eliminate all choices, but (B) and (E)...at this point even if you don't understand what the passage is saying you have a 50% chance of choosing the correct answer.
So Far - so good !
Said that..here's my reasoning for (B): other mandates that can be applied to reduce or eliminate unjustified pay gaps between male and female workers have not remedied perceived pay inequities satisfactorily for the litigants in cases in which men and women hold different jobs...further the passage gives example of 2 such mandates and we are told that neither compares tasks in dissimilar jobs

so basically, the application of other mandates does not help us determine the pay difference between men and women in different job roles...and choice (B) is that scenario where men and women ARE in different job roles.
I got the understanding of this - wrong ! I thought pay inequalities arise from when the pay is different for two people with same job.
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by ice_rush » Sat May 19, 2012 8:59 pm
Hi penguinfoot,

see the very first line of the passage: Comparable worth, as a standard applied to eliminate inequities in pay, insists that the values of certain tasks performed in dissimilar jobs can be compared....In summary, the passage tells us what the comparable worth is about and why it is better than other mandates.


hope this helps!

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by penguinfoot » Sun May 20, 2012 6:39 am
Yeah ... i get it now :)

Thanks - I was totally confused cause the passage was so damn tough to read :(
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