Question

why women paid less than men

Answer 1

Women are almost half of the workforce. They are the sole or co-breadwinner in half of American families with children. They receive more college and graduate degrees than men. Yet, on average, women continue to earn considerably less than men. In 2017, female full-time, year-round workers made only 80.5 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent.Reasons for the gender wage gap are multi-faceted. IWPR’s research shows that, irrespective of the level of qualification, jobs predominantly done by women pay less on average than jobs predominantly done by men. Women have made tremendous strides during the last few decades by moving into jobs and occupations previously done almost exclusively by men, yet during the last two decades there has been very little further progress in the gender integration of work. In some industries and occupations, like construction, there has been no progress in forty years. This persistent occupational segregation is a primary contributor to the lack of significant progress in closing the wage gap. Persistent pay inequality can have far-reaching economic consequences. According to a recent regression analysis of federal data by IWPR, equal pay would cut poverty among working women and their families by more than half and add $513 billion to the national economy.Since 1987, IWPR’s research on the gender wage gap and occupational segregation has changed the conversation on women’s pay and provided policymakers, journalists, and advocates the data they need to better inform the debate on women’s earnings.

Answer 2

Women are paid less on AVERAGE because they are less likely to work overtime and more likely to work full time. The average is also skewed by women choosing to work in safe low paying positions like childcare and retail instead of digging ditches or working on skyscrapers. That is the result of women’s choices. No one considers it sexist that 99% of kindergarten teachers are women or 80%+ of nurses are women.

For the same jobs with the same experience and credentials, there is NO wage gap.