Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Mind the Gap


April 10 is equal pay day. It symbolizes the date when working women’s wages catch up to what men were paid the previous year--how far into 2018 women have to work (on average) to earn what men earned in the 2017 calendar year. Pew Research Center reported that in 2015, women earned 83% of what men earned. So, the gap is narrowing (you've probably seen the often sited 79 cents on the dollar statistic), but still persistent.  

The wage gap compares women’s wages to men’s on a very broad scale. It’s stated as a very broad statistic, women earn 83 cents on the dollar, or used to compare women’s’ wages to men’s wages within industries. Sarah Kliff at Vox wrote this article that clearly explains the wage gap. Some of the gap is certainly due to discriminatory practices, but the preferences of women also have an impact. The Gender Pay Gap persists despite equal pay laws. This white paper from Denmark explains how gender inequality in earnings stems from women's preferences after they have children.

Pay equity compares what women earn to what men earn for doing the “same work.” States are enacting pay equity laws because pay equity is viewed as something that’s within the employers control. Last year, I laid out a 10 step process for employers to follow to eliminate pay inequities. I’m proud to say it’s worked for ASHA.



1 comment:

Kay Pasion said...

Nice articles, love the one that talks about gender pay gap.