Table of Contents
Definition of Comparable Worth
(noun) Paying women the same as men to complete different but equally demanding work based on the education and experience required to do them and the level of responsibility and stress related to them.
Comparable Worth Pronunciation
Syllabification: com·pa·ra·ble worth
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /kAHm-puhr-ruh-buhl wUHRth/
- British English – /kUHm-puh-ruh-buhl wUHRth/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈkɑmpərəbəl wɜrθ/
- British English – /ˈkɒmpərəbl wɜːθ/
Usage Notes
- Plural: comparable worths
- A key limitation in the idea of comparable worth is how to determine the “worth” of various jobs.
- Also called:
- sex equity
- pay equity
Related Videos
Additional Information
- Sex and Gender Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “comparable” and “worth” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Dennis, Rutledge M., ed. 2005. Marginality, Power and Social structure: Issues in Race, Class, and Gender Analysis. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
- Richardson, Laurel. 1988. The Dynamics of Sex and Gender: A Sociological Perspective. New York: Harper & Row.
- Schneir, Miriam, ed. 1994. Feminism in Our Time: The Essential Writings, World War II to the Present. New York: Vintage Books.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. 2007. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Comparable Worth
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “comparable worth.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 16, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/comparable-worth/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
comparable worth. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/comparable-worth/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “comparable worth.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 16, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/comparable-worth/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“comparable worth.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/comparable-worth/>.