Analysis and Evaluation of Comparable Worth in Compensation Management

Author

Susan Delores Klepper, Fontbonne College

Year of Award

1986

Degree

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

College

College of Business & Professional Studies

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

Pay Equity, Civil Rights, Women, Earning Gap

Abstract

Equal pay - established by law since the early 1960s - has come to mean equal pay for the same job. Pay equity, on the other hand, refers to equitable pay for different jobs that are of comparable worth to the employer. A much broader concept than equal pay, comparable worth requires comparing the skill and responsibility of workers in different jobs to determine the value of their labor to the employer.

It further states that jobs of similar value should receive a similar wage.

The concept of comparable worth grew out of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 required an employer to pay employees performing the same job the same wage. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 went even further. Title VII of the act prohibits wage discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin. To its supporters, comparable worth offers a remedy for rooting out the discrimination in pay and working conditions.

Opponents of comparable worth or pay equity focus on the market as a fair, scientific and sacrosanct method of setting wages.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Klepper, Susan Delores, "Analysis and Evaluation of Comparable Worth in Compensation Management" (1986). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 604.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/604