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December 1985, Vol. 108, No.
12
Comparable worth:
organizational dilemmas
Comparable worth has emerged as a major equal employment opportunity issue of the eighties. This issue is extremely controversial because it challenges traditional wage setting practices. What should be the basis for wage setting in our society? Should wages reflect supply and demand forces, or should they reflect the contribution individuals make to their employers?
To a certain extent, the answers to these questions are philosophical in that they reflect individual and cultural values. These questions also have important political and economic dimensions. It is not surprising that some observers describe comparable worth as a policy that could have dire economic consequences. Nor is it surprising that advocates see the issue in moral and ethical terms, and as a fundamental and necessary part of equal employment opportunity.
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