Gena Glover
YWCA McLean County
Did you know that women who work full-time, year round are only paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes? This is called the wage gap.
The wage gap results in women earning $11,608 less each year in median earnings than men. Even though steps toward equality have been taken, including the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Lilly Ledbetter Act, the gap in wages has not changed in more than a decade.
Why has there been little change? Because outdated stereotypes about women and their “proper” place still exist. Those stereotypes maintain:
* Women are not “breadwinners” of their families. Many still believe women don’t need raises or promotions because their income is just “extra” and not the “primary” income. Women are the main breadwinners in a record high 40 percent of households with children, but current workplace policies too often don’t reflect today’s reality. That hurts families and hurts our economy.
* Certain jobs are “man’s work” and women cannot do that type of work. The higher paying jobs which require physical labor or managerial skills are usually thought of as “man’s work” and women are not even considered for those roles because people do not believe they can perform the required tasks. Women are supposed to act like ladies. There are many who believe that the way women act and dress impact their ability to negotiate salaries and jobs. The belief is that women should look pretty and dress like a “woman” and performing traditional male jobs may not allow this.
* Women are unable to commit to their jobs because they are caregivers. Throughout the years, and still today, women have been denied positions, promotions, and salary because of being mothers. Many believe that mothers are not as committed to their jobs, whereas fathers are not viewed the same way, and sometimes offered salary increases because they have a family to support.
These stereotypes are harmful because they lead to the wage gap. They keep women in lower paying and lower visibility jobs, and exclude women from informal communication networks.
While the wage gap is harmful to all women, it does affect different groups of women differently:
* African-American women make 64 cents to each dollar a man earns.
* Hispanic women make 54 cents to each dollar a man earns.
* Mothers who work year-round typically make $38,000, vs. the $55,000 fathers earn under similar circumstances.
* Women in same-sex relationships make $38,000 vs. men in same-sex relationships who earn $47,000.
When looking at how this impacts women throughout their career, we see that women who work full-time, year-round lose $464,320 over 40 years, and would have to work more than 12 years to make up the gap.
The average monthly Social Security benefits of women are $13,090, compared with monthly $17,170 for men with comparable benefits.
According to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Enforcement Guidance: Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers With Caregiving Responsibilities (May 2007), available at http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/caregiving.html#fn44;cf.Back,365F.3dat119, the wage gap is important because “discriminating based on stereotypes isn’t just wrong, it’s illegal. When employers base their decisions on sex stereotypes this violates the prohibition against sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." While many will continue to hold onto the myths, it is a reality for many. As President Obama has stated about the wage gap, “It’s not a myth; it’s math.”