Humans Will Probably Walk on Mars Before Women Get Equal Pay
Here are just some of the things we might have before women achieve equal pay: flying cars, long walks on Mars, teleportation, hoverboards, household robots. Houston, we have a problem.
Based on two different projections — the pace of change since the 1960s and the pace of change in the past decade — women won’t see equal pay until 2059 or 2276, respectively. That’s because progress in closing the gender pay gap has stalled in recent years. The result? It could be more than 250 years, or nearly three generations, until women get fair pay.
There’s a problem when futuristic wish lists become more realistic than the prospect of equity. You can help close the pay gap by donating to AAUW this #GivingTuesday.
Altogether, the gender pay gap costs a typical woman at least $400,000 over the course of her career. That’s no small chunk of change. Because of the pay gap, women are more likely than men to live in poverty, struggle with the burden of student debt, and experience economic insecurity in retirement. The harm caused by pay inequity runs deep, especially given that women make up a record 40 percent of U.S. breadwinners.
According to AAUW’s latest research, women working full time, year round are paid only 79 cents for every dollar men are paid. The pay gap is even worse for mothers and women of color. African American women are typically paid just 63 percent of what white men are paid. Hispanic and Latina women face the largest gap, making 54 percent of white men’s earnings. For these women, it’s arguably more likely that their grandchildren will live with robots or walk on Mars than have fair pay.
For ourselves and our children, it’s time to pick up the pace in the fight for fair pay.
Founded in 1881, AAUW has been studying the gender pay gap since 1894, when we first analyzed the pay of college-educated women. Through the years, we’ve continued to conduct groundbreaking research on pay equity as well as advocate for policy and legislative action to close the pay gap. AAUW members were in the room when President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law in 1963. More recently, AAUW members worked tirelessly to help pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was signed into law in 2009. It was a start, but the pay gap remains. And as trends show, it’s sticking around — that is, unless we act.
Equal pay shouldn’t be a dream for our great, great, great granddaughters. Agree? Lend a hand this #GivingTuesday!
Luckily, there are many things employers, individuals, and governments can do to help speed up the process, including supporting AAUW.When it comes to policy, we must continue to advocate for strong pay equity legislation, including the long-stalled Paycheck Fairness Act, as well as encourage employers to support flexible work schedules and conduct job audits to ensure fairness. AAUW also educates the public about the harm of the pay gap, and we hold national workshops to empower women to hone their salary negotiation skills. In September, we announced a collaboration with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement to bring AAUW’s Work Smart salary negotiation workshop to half the working women in Bostonover the next five years. These efforts are critical elements as we work to close the gender pay gap.
It’s been an uphill battle, but progress has occurred. We’ve made strides since the 1930s, when the federal government actually required that its female workers be paid 25 percent less than male workers in the same jobs. Back then, American women likely felt that the prospect of receiving a paycheck equal to a man’s was the stuff of science fiction. But groups like AAUW have helped lead the charge in policy and cultural shifts. Today, we have the power to make fair pay a reality — if we all take action and chip in.
Buckle up those jet packs. Equal pay, here we come.
A Timely Reminder This Thanksgiving - Native Women Have to Work 9 Extra Months to Make the Same Salary as White Men Made Last Year
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: There’s a pay gap between women and men, and that gap is even wider for women of color. But here are a few facts you might not have heard before: American Indian and Alaska Native women are paid just 59 cents for every dollar white men are paid. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, that number is 62 cents.
Native women are a notoriously understudied group. According to Catherine Hill, AAUW vice president of research, the relatively small size of their population is at least partially responsible for the lack of information. American Indians and Alaska Natives make up just 2 percent of the U.S. population, about 5.2 million men and women. There are just 1.4 million natives of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. In contrast, there are 200.9 million people in the white population and 45 million in the black or African American population.
The lack of data means that, for now, we can’t definitively say what is causing this gap, but we can hedge a few guesses. Native people face disproportionate rates of unemployment, poverty, and violence, as well as limited access to education, and women tend to bear the brunt of discrimination. Yes, there’s a pay gap between native men (who are underpaid) and native women.
There is some good news. Native American women are now going to college and holding jobs at higher rates than ever before, and we know that education and good jobs help increase earnings — though they don’t eliminate the wage gap. So for now, we’ll mark September 8, and keep agitating for some real change.