I’ve discovered an interesting website containing several articles about the wages and earnings of women in the United States. That may not sound too exciting but it takes on more significance when you realize that women working full-time still earn only 77 cents for every full-time male dollar.
I began exploring the “Money” section of www.womensmedia.com and was amazed at the in-depth articles available. What immediately caught my eye were the articles regarding wage disparity. Yes, in 2009 we are still talking about women earning less than a man doing the same job.
Here is a statistic sited in an article entitled Gender Wage Gap: Are you paid as much as a man if he had your job? written by Evelyn Murphy: “Over a woman’s lifetime if you’re a young woman who graduated last summer from high school, you will earn $700,000 less than the young man standing in line with you to get his diploma over your working life.”
As you read that statistic, how does that make you feel?
At first I shook my head in disbelief. Then the realization began to sink in – we as women have a long way to go to ensure our financial self-sufficiency. Why is there still gender gap pay disparity?
Is it any wonder most women worry about retirement? What does that loss of $700,000 over a woman’s lifetime really mean? In the scheme of things, it probably means the loss of savings, additional Social Security benefits, pension plan benefits, investment opportunities and maybe even the ability to become more financially independent and self-sufficient?
If wage disparity is the challenge facing women, then what are the solutions? Years ago we women heard it was lack of education, a lack of business sense or lack of ambition. Frankly, I don’t think these arguments hold water in 2009.
Women are beginning to graduate from college at a slightly higher rate than men. Women work hard at their jobs. Some women are even working full time while caring for families, including aging parents. Are working women underappreciated?
Author Evelyn Murphy believes the wage gap is due to plain old discrimination. What do you think? Does the workplace still discriminate against women? Definitely some powerful financial food for thought.
Please visit our forum and let us know what you think about the wage gap.
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