Comparable Worth and High School Teachers Labor markets in the United States frequently have resulted in wage patterns that seem discriminatory; minorities and women, on average, are paid substantially less than white males. One approach (known as comparable worth) to making wage patterns more equal is to disregard the market forces of demand and supply and to set wages for jobs based on job characteristics. Using this approach, people who hold jobs that take place in the same sort of environment, that require the same level of responsibility, and that require the same amount of education should receive the same rate of pay.

The job market for high school teachers in most of the United States has worked this way for many years.