Reference no: EM131145915

When it comes to discrimination, the workplace today is a far cry from what it was even two decades ago. Activists, companies and legislators have taken many steps to curb discrimination at a variety of levels including race, ethnicity, gender and age. One area where workplace discrimination continues and is a source of hot debate is that of pay equality - equal pay for the same jobs is still not the reality. Today women on an average make about 80-95% (depending on industry and study referred to) of their male counterparts in the same industry. A counter argument to this situation has been that this gap is mainly due to the fact that a large number of employed women joined the workforce when discrimination was still widely practiced in certain industries. Other arguments presented include the idea that this inequality is a result of market function rather than discrimination (economics perspective) and that women's' decision making might be different from men based on individual priorities and the unreliability of statistics in individual cases (refer to the Walmart case presented in the text - pgs. 159-161, and the comment of Supreme Court Judge, Sandra Day O'Connor towards the end). The two perspectives are clearly put forth in the videos below: Refer to this funny (ignore the political aspects) video about the Lily Ledbetter case: https://www.cc.com/video-clips/x89ju7/the-colbert-report-lilly-ledbetter Here is another to drive the point home: https://www.makers.com/moments/how-wage-discrimination-continues And here is one that brings up the other side of the argument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwogDPh-Sow In view of the two sides (there really is pay discrimination vs. it is a warped situation created by statistical inadequacies), take a position. Then, justify it in light of all the stakeholders involved. To do this, First, make sure to list all of these - (stakeholders are all elements who might be affected by the issue). Next, explain how they are affected. Third, take your position. Fourth - explain your position - justify it from the utilitarian and deontological perspectives - how would you use the rights and justice perspectives vs. impact and effect to promote your position.