AAUW Study on Gender Pay Inequity + Women Make 77 Percent of Male Counterparts

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AAUW Study on Gender Pay Inequity + Women Make 77 Percent of Male Counterparts – Recently the AAUW released the 2012 annual study on gender pay inequity in America and reported that women are still only making 77 percent of what their male counterparts are. This is disturbing news considering how far one might think we’ve come since the 20th century.

But first, here’s a little background on the issue:

What is the AAUW? The American Association of University Women is a group that has been fighting for equal pay since 1913. They were in the Oval Office when President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963 and again when President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009.

What is the “pay gap”? The pay gap is the difference between what men get paid and what women get paid for the same job. Despite major progress over the past 50 years, women are still being paid less than men.

The AAUW calculates this by: Men’s Median Earnings – Women’s Median Earnings ÷ Men’s Median Earnings = Pay Gap

AAUW Study on Gender Pay Inequity + Women Make 77 Percent of Male Counterparts

In 2010 it was reported that women’s annual median earnings were $36,931 and men’s median earnings were $47,715. This means that women are making only 77% of what men are. In 2012 it turns out that the pay gap is still affecting women of all backgrounds, ages, races and levels of educational achievement. This goes for all types of jobs as well, states the AAUW:

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“While a pay gap exists in nearly every occupational field, jobs traditionally associated with men tend to pay better than traditionally female jobs for the same level of skill required. And even in 2012, women and men still tend to work in different jobs. This segregation of occupations is a major factor behind the pay gap.”

At the end of the day the gender pay inequity affects everyone negatively. More and more families are depending on the woman’s income to make ends meet and its in their favor if the pay gap is eliminated. It is unlikely that this last vestige of pay inequality is going to go away on its own. We need new legislation, we need to encourage women not only pursue college education but aren’t afraid to get into traditionally male fields, and we need to make employers accountable for pay discrepancies.

Huge strides have been made by women over the years, but there’s still more ground to be covered. Women being paid only 77% of what male counterparts earn is still a significant difference. As long as we don’t forget that the pay gap is still an issue we can change this.