The pay gap: are women paid less than men? Since the Equal Pay Act of 1963, American women have fought for decades to achieve equal pay and wages. Even today, women have shown no real advancement in wages and salaries compared to men who earn much more and have higher salaries in general. Since World War II, women began to obtain jobs in the absence of men at war. In 1942, employers were required to make “adjustments which equalize the wages or rates of treatment […] paid to men for comparable quality and quantity of work in the same or similar operations” (Brunner). This was a demand for female workers to receive equal pay to men. Not only did employers ignore their requests, but by the end of World War II, most women were dismissed from their jobs in favor of male veterans. In 1963, the Equal Pay Act came into force and was implemented. for the first time in history, it became illegal to pay women based on gender relative to men. Although the pay gap has improved over the years, in general there has been little improvement in terms of women's pay. In the past, men's wages were about 59% of men's wages, and since 2012, today's women now earn 80.9% of men's wages (Brunner). However, several studies have shown that although women have progressed in the workforce in the four decades since the Equal Pay Act of 1963, inequality between women and men still exists. Women are paid more than men, but these jobs are often considered traditionally feminine. For example, in terms of secretariat d...... middle of paper ......d. Foundation of the Feminist Majority. Internet. December 31, 2013.Brunner, Borgna. “A story of pay inequity in the United States” infoplease. nd Pearson Education.Web. November 5, 2013. Dugas, Christine. “The gender pay gap persists.” THE UNITED STATES TODAY. October 24, 2012: 5-6. Internet. November 5, 2013.Feeney, Sheila Anne. "Wage gap persists for women, new report finds." I'm in New York. Newsday, November 5, 2013. Web. November 6, 2013. Fitzpatrick, Laura. “Why do women earn even less than men?.” Time Magazine. April 20, 2010: n. page. Internet. November 6, 2013. Königsberg, Ruth Davis. “The wage gap is not as bad as you (and Sheryl Sandberg) think.” Time Magazine. March 7, 2013: n.page. Internet. November 19, 2013.Marcus, Bonnie. “7 things I learned from listening to women.” Forbes.com, December 4, 2013. Web. December 30, 2013. Pynchon, Victoria. “The Wage Gap – It’s Time to Take It Personally.” » Forbes.com, October 28 2012.. 2013.