According to the Institute For Women’s Policy Research, women, on average, earn less than men in almost every occupation. In an article by Emmie Martin, of CNBC, I found the median income for American women both weekly and annually. The earnings were also divided between seven separate age groups: 16-19, 20-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65+. For comparison purposes, the article also divulged the median income of American men at the same age. In my graph below, the men (blue) and women (pink) show the pay deficit between genders in America.
According to the same research, for every dollar earned by a man working full-time, year-round, a woman working full-time year-round earns $0.76. Another disturbing aspect of this debate is the fact that it does not take race into consideration. The IWPR tracks the gender wage gap and has found that if change continues at such a slow pace, it will take another 41 years (on top of the 55 that have already passed) for women to finally receive equal pay. The IWPR also reports that Hispanic women will have to wait until 2233 and Black
I have heard the statistic, “A woman makes 0.75 cents for every dollar a man makes” many times before. However, I thought your discussion of race raises an interesting point, because not all women are paid equally, and that this statistic varies across race. I think age is also an important factor to consider, although I believe age does probably affect both genders.
This is very interesting Elly. I think that the wage gap should be getting smaller. I wonder what occupations have smaller gaps than others. Also, I wonder where the correlation of educational degrees and wage gap vary between men and females. Like does a female with a phd in math make 76 cents on the dollar to a man with phd in math? I think I will have to look into this! Good read!
This is a very informative post and outlines an issue that should not be occurring. Your graph is very clear and concise. It is crazy to think that a female with the same qualifications as another man get paid less. It makes sense that annual income is highest for men and women in the 35-54 age rage where occupational experience is most likely at its peak, but it is not fair that women remain below men based on gender alone.
I think you did a great job raising the issue of the wage gap when there are so many people that deny it. The wage gap is currently closed in Iceland so it’s not impossible for the gap to close. I think this graph could and maybe should have the bars be broken down for race just because the variation is so different if you were to do it again (I know that’s a lot of work, but it’s so important).