April 12 marks Equal Pay Day\u2014symbolizing how far into the year women have to work on average before their earnings catch up with what men earned in the previous year. Women in the U.S. are still typically paid just79 cents for every dollar earned by men, despite the fact that the Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1963.<\/p>\n
Big data professionals who crunch numbers for banks, accounting firms and even top-of-the-popularity lists like Google and Apple point out that women simply can’t do the ‘ask’ as well we men. \u00a0Companies are urged to hold training sessions at educational institutions, teaching women how to better assess their worth and then make more realistic and higher salary and benefit demands. \u00a0It is in companies’ interest because they want to diversify their wok force and add more women, and these sessions will improve their brand.<\/p>\n
Here is where we are today. \u00a0While you have probably heard the 79 cents statistic before, there are a whole host of other, equally worrying numbers surrounding the pay gap and the plight of working women in the U.S. that might not be so familiar.<\/p>\n
For example, the gender pay gap grows considerably with age, with women ages 55-64 earning just 76% of what their male peers are paid.<\/p>\n
According to the 2016 American Association of University Women (AAUW)report, \u2018The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap,\u201d race also plays a major role in the pay gap. In 2014, Hispanic and Latina women earned just 54% of what white men earned, American Indian and Alaska Native women just 59% and African American women 63%. White women, by comparison, earned 78% of white men\u2019s earnings.<\/p>\n
This has a major impact on women\u2019s ability to pay off student debt. Four years after graduation, one study<\/a> found that women working full-time had on average paid off 33% of their student loan debt, compared to men working full-time, who had paid off 44% of theirs. But African American and Hispanic women working full-time had been able to pay off less than 10% of their debt\u2014much less than other women.<\/p>\n The pay gap also varies by state. According to American Community Survey (ACS) data, in 2014, the pay gap between year-round, full-time workers was smallest in Washington, D.C., where women were paid 90% of what men earned, and widest in Louisiana, where women earned 65% of what men earned.<\/p>\n There is also a stark difference between the earnings of mothers and fathers\u2014while we mark Equal Pay Day in April for all women, if we were to compare the pay of parents, moms\u2019 equal pay day would take place in early June, as it would take them nearly six extra months to earn what fathers earn in just one year. While working mothers earn less than childless women on average, men who become fathers actually earn more and are more likely to be hired than childless men.<\/p>\n Earnings also vary considerably between different fields, with women in financial management, for example, earning on average just 67% of what their male peers are paid. Traditionally female-dominated fields are often worse paid and less respected than those dominated by men. When women move into male-dominated occupations however, research suggests that rather than solving the problem, those fields tend to become less respected and lower paid as a result.<\/p>\n Contrary to one common argument, the pay gap cannot simply be explained by \u201cwomen\u2019s life choices.\u201d \u00a0The report revealed that just one year after graduation, when many people have yet to think about starting a family, women working full time were paid, on average, just 82% of what their male peers earned.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" April 12 marks Equal Pay Day\u2014symbolizing how far into the year women have to work on average before their earnings catch up with what men earned in the previous year. Women in the U.S. are still typically paid just79 cents … Continue reading