Since the early efforts of the women's movement to eradicate gender discrimination from the American workplace in the 1960s, women have made important advances in their rates of participation in the workforce. Three out of four women between the ages of 20-54 are now working, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Women's Bureau.

Despite these gains, many observers contend that wage discrimination rewards occupations traditionally dominated by women, such as nursing, with lower wages than occupations requiring comparable skills and education dominated by men, such as fireman. Advocates for ending wage discrimination assert that "comparable worth" policies are the answer to this gender wage gap. These policies, enacted in several U.S. states, mandate that men and women working different jobs requiring comparable skills and education receive the same wages. Explains Karen Nussbaum of the American Federation...