Author(s): Hussin J. Hejase, Ale J. Hejase
Nations power their economic growth capitalizing on their integrated workforce whereby male and female workforce join the productivity ranks to maximize financial returns, boost the productive sectors, and move the country to higher ranks of achieving the highest utilization of the human resources available to them. However, the aforementioned objectives are hindered to variable degrees depending on the category of the nation’s income (Khokhar & Serajuddin, 2015). More specifically, there are many economic variables (IMF, 2015) that characterize the economic state of each nation including GDP, purchasing power parities (PPPs), annual inflation rates, currency and exchange rates, human development indices, unemployment rates, balance of payment, and foreign trade, among others. However, weaknesses in human development practices and efficiency in the labor market may lead to negative consequences. One such weakness is gender discrimination and its consequent wage gap discrimination. Hejase et al. (2015) contend that the analysis of the gender wage gap has been an active subject within the socio-economic domains around the world. Much of this gap occurs at the upper rungs of the organizational ladder, even among females with credentials or achievements to their names. Further, Hejase et al. (2014) argue that the individuals’ skills, productivity, and commitment to work ultimately determine their incomes sounds too naïve to explain the earnings’ differential between males and females. In fact, discrimination against females may occur at different stages of their career path. The wage gap is apparent at the top (glass ceiling) as well as at the bottom (sticky floors) of wage distribution.