The statistical data in the Table 1-4 below reflects the harsh reality of the unfairness of earned income for women. The tables also reflect the fact that the more education a woman has the greater the wage gap will likely be.
Table I.
Occupations with estimated earnings of under $20,000 2
Occupation Percent Women Men's Wages Women's Wages Earnings Gap Earnings Ratio (%)
Waiter/Waitress 69% $346 $301 $45 87%
Cleaning & Building Services 40% $382 $307 $75 80%
Cashiers 76% $313 $276 $37 88%
Food Preparation and Service 50% $325 $294 $31 90%
Table II.
Occupations with estimated earnings between $20,000 and $34,000
Occupation Percent Women Men's Wages Women's Wages Earnings Gap Earnings Ratio (%)
Bus Driver 45% $506 $401 $105 79%
Sales Worker; Retail & Personal 56% $470 $301 $169 64%
Mechanics & Repairers 5% $649 $627 $22 97%
Construction Trades 2% $599 $475 $124 79%
Truck Drivers 4% $573 $407 $166 71%
Table III.
Occupations with estimated earnings above $34,000
Occupation Percent Women Men's Wages Women's Wages Earnings Gap Earnings Ratio (%)
Accountants & Auditors 60% $953 $690 $263 72%
Securities & Financial Services Sales 33% $1,118 $641 $477 57%
Physicians 31% $1,553 $899 $654 58%
Teachers, College & Univ 38% $1,020 $805 $215 79%
Lawyers & Judges 29% $1,448 $1,054 $394 73%
Economists 48% $1,148 $785 $363 68%
Table IV.
Occupations in Which the Majority of Workers are Women
Occupation Percent Women Men's Wages Women's Wages Earnings Gap Earnings Ratio (%)
Registered Nurse 91% $890 $782 $108 88%
Social Worker 71% $637 $589 $48 92%
Admin Support including clerical 77% $563 $449 $114 80%
teachers, except college & universities 74% $827 $673 $154 81%
1 Data were analyzed using 2000 Household Data Annual Averages, Bureau of Labor Statistics
2 Approximate Annual Earnings categories were estimated by multiplying median weekly wages for men by 52 weeks
from the National Committee on Pay Equity
© Copyright 2002, BPW/USA
Studies show that the greater a women’s presence in an occupation the greater likelihood of low wages for that occupation despite the level of skill or education. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE), college-educated women earn $12,823 less a year, on average, than men with the same education do. This historic economic oppression is noted by Florynce Kennedy, A comparative Study: Accentuating the Similarities of the Societal Position of Women and Negroes, when she wrote in 1976 “Both women and Negroes command lower wages, and are usually confined to lower-bracket positions. In times of economic stress working women and Negroes arouse resentment of those of the dominant group who are unemployed. Rivalry for jobs provides a source of serious friction”.
Today’s society is changing toward pay equity for many reasons. The changes in the gender of the workforce demands pay equity. There is many more partnership marriages whereby the wife is an equal factor with the husband in producing wealth. There are also many single moms who are financially supporting the family alone. Additionally, most parents no longer have greater aspirations for their son’s economic success than they do for their daughter’s economic success. Young women in America are not being raised to find a man who can support them, but to find a man who they can love and work together with. The high divorce rate of our times also encourages parents to raise their daughters to be able to secure their financial independence by becoming educated and skilled. This strategy is limited because while education does afford women with more ability to work with the powers that be, it is not entirely effective without pay equity. Many men today, whether they are husbands, fathers, or sons, are not also disadvantaged by the pay inequity of their mother, wife, and daughter. Even the most cynical thinker of pay equity is likely to be negatively affected by it in his or her own family. According to the BPW/USA over a working lifetime, the wage disparity costs the average American woman an estimated $250,000. This figure would no doubt affect the men in her life. This point is supported in the BPW/USA National Poll of 800 likely voters, 60% of male voters said women and minorities are paid less. Also a poll by the National Committee on Pay Equity of registered voters indicated over 60% of men would support a pay equity law requiring the same pay for men, women, and minorities who work in jobs requiring similar skills and responsibilities, even if the jobs are different. Possibly Virginia Woolf’ who wrote “From A Room of One’s Own” would appreciate pay equity as another milestone in women being seen as individuals rather than only in relation to the other sex.
On average pay equity wage adjustments range from three to four percent of payroll costs. These are minimal costs to employers, but make substantial differences to the individual women and people of color affected. Across the nation, more than $750 million in wage adjustments have been awarded to workers in the public sector to correct unfair pay practices. There is no evidence that implementation of pay equity has led to any job loss for women or people of color in the states where these programs were initiated. (BPW/USA)
Legislation is the most effective means for attaining this right to fair pay. According to the BPW/USA, at the current rate of change, the wage gap will not be eliminated until 2038. Only a huge public outcry will expedite Women’s Right to Fair Pay.
My studies in Feminist theory were not entirely specific to my topic of Pay Equity for Women but as this topic has been actively challenged in the last 20 years I can reflect on the similarity of its importance and urgency to feminist milestones of the past. Theories I have read of male domination and nationalism, toward women and minorities make me realize that the dominating group (white males) and the basic issues of the oppression of women and minorities are the same. The issue at hand, Pay Equity for Women, is another vital step in climbing the ladder to equality for women. Men will be forced to see us not as subordinates but as partners or contenders in their lives. I consider myself fortunate to be taking this step for women’s rights of Pay Equity and appreciate it as only occurring because of the accomplishments of the feminist movement activist of the past.
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