It was more than 200 years ago when Adam Smith, the famous American economist, suggested letting the market rule in making decisions about economic problems. However, there are situations when the market itself is not able to produce fair decisions. That is when the government should step in. One of the social problems, which require government participation and close social attention, is the wage discrimination of women.
I think that this phenomenon has an historical explanation and that its roots go far back in the past. Even the Bible has a record about the Lord saying that a wage for the working man should be more than for a woman. Well, I can understand why there was such an explanation. In the past the major number of jobs was based on hard physical work and demanded great physical strength and endurance. There is why the main provider in the family was a man while a woman traditionally stayed at home looking after her children and performing housework. However, scientific and technological progress changed all those old-fashioned traditions. The criteria that were so important a thousand years ago are not the skills that really count for a qualified professional today. Instead, the market is looking for such qualities as intelligence, education, and professionalism. Therefore, today for most positions a woman is as highly qualified as any man. .
Because of the struggle for women's rights in the American democratic society, women have been rewarded with some advantages such as "Program of Affirmative Action". But the wage for women is still less than for men, despite Equal Pay act that was passed in 1963 and requires that " a man and a woman doing the same task with the same skill and experience be paid the same". Statistics still report that average women's salaries are lower than men's even for similar work. As I read in the article women at the vice-presidential level and above earn 42 % less than male counterparts.