Staff graphic by Bill Thombro
Pay day. The culmination of a week’s hard work. Something all employees look forward to, though some at a lower rate than others.
Men and women are paid differently for the same work. Empirical data from the U.S. Census Bureau states that for every dollar a man makes, a woman will earn 79 cents. What remains uncertain is a divide within that 21-cent gap. Though about 13 cents are purportedly accounted for, there’s an almost 8-cent deficit for women that some attribute — at least partially — to systemic gender discrimination.
“It’s pretty rare to find someone that finds it unfair to pay women as much as men,” said Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. “But this is something that can’t be seen.”
The data were highlighted in a report released this month by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress.
Where pennies slip through the cracks
According to a study titled “The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations,” 62 percent of the wage gap can be attributed to variances across industries, education and experience, race, region and even factors such as unionization. The reason for the remaining 38 percent isn’t as plainly stated, and opinions differ on whether individual biases, managerial approaches, categorical behavior differences or gender discrimination are to blame.
“There’s compelling empirical research that shows this is straightforward discrimination,” said Cate Taylor, an assistant professor of sociology and gender studies at Indiana University. “We have such good data on workforce characteristics and what kind of people do what kind of jobs — that’s why they say the (unexplained portion) must be due to discrimination. There’s nothing else that can fit into the model.”
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