Gender Pay Gap, Once Closing, Largely Stagnates During Economic Slowdown

Though the share of women participating in the low-wage workforce has declined in the past three decades, it's remained relatively stagnant for the last five years.

Women composed about half of the workforce in 2010, but they constituted 59 percent of the low-wage workforce, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. Women's representation in the low-wage workforce has declined steadily from 73 percent since 1980, but it has largely stagnated at approximately 59 percent since 2005. And though women are more educated than men, they continue to be paid less. Women between the ages of 25 and 34 now finish high school and college at a rate of 37 percent, compared to 29 percent of young men, the report found.

Women's high level of concentration in the low-wage workforce has dragged down their average earnings and made it more difficult to narrow the wage gap between men and women. Still, the American workforce is making some progress in closing the gap; in 2000, less educated women earned 19 cents less for every dollar that men made, in 2010 that pay difference shrunk to 14 cents less for every dollar that men made, according to the GAO report.

Another reason for the slow progress: Women continue to get locked out of the highest-paying jobs, especially corporate management positions. Just 14 percent of senior executives at Fortune 500 companies were women: a share that has barely budged since 2005 after 10 years of slow increases, according to The New York Times.

To an extent, less educated women continue to make less money than less educated men because they often end up working in lower-paying sectors. Health care, social assistance, and retail, which pay an average of $14 per hour, drew the largest number of less educated women, while many less educated men earned more $19 per hour on average while working in construction, transportation, or utilities, according to the GAO report. Manufacturing, the most popular occupation among less educated men, paid about $17 per hour on average.

Though men bore the brunt of job losses during the recession because they work in industries more sensitive to economic downturns, such as manufacturing and construction, according to the NYT, they're now enjoying more of the benefits of the slow economic recovery. For example, male employment in mining and logging has increased 13.8 percent since the beginning of the economic recovery in June 2009, and male employment in professional and business services has risen 5.6 percent, according to a Pew Research Center report cited by the NYT.

But women's unemployment rose 0.4 percent between June 2009 -- when the recovery began -- and September 2011. During the same period, the unemployment rate for men dropped 1.1 percent.

Women are likely having a tougher recovery because the sectors in which they work have been slashing jobs. The public sector is losing jobs at the same rate that the private sector is adding them, according to a report released earlier this week. That phenomenon has been especially rough on women; they lost a total of 407,000 public sector jobs between June 2009 and September 2011, virtually wiping out their private sector gains in the same period.

Comments

[Gilbert Albright]

10:17 AM on 11/05/2011

An story b a FEMALE on the Gender Pay Gap. The Pay Gap exists NOT because of discrimination by because of CHOICE!

There are HUNDREDS of good paying jobs that Women will NOT TAKE! This is what creates the Pay Gap. It has NOTHING TO DO WITH DISCRIMINATION. Yet the Feminists keep using it as proof of women somehow being oppressed. BALONEY!

Good Paying Jobs Women Will NOT Take: Power Lineman, Plumber, Heavy Equipment Operator, Iron Worker, Dock Worker, Diesel Mechanic, Stone Mason, Oil Rig Worker,
Boilermaker, Elevator Installer, Aircraft Mechanic, Electricians, Machinists, Tool And Die Makers, and on and one and on.

Women CHOOSE to take lower paying jobs because they won't take a job that involves heavy lifting, getting dirty, working outdoors, working at heights, involves physical risks, that require them to be away from their families, whose hours conflict with their child care needs, and on and on and on.

Women eliminating THEMSELVES from many good paying jobs is what CREATES the Gender Pay Gap!

[ladyjoker7413123]

05:35 AM on 11/05/2011

Actually. Women and men get paid about the same. Women just tend to take more time off from work than men, because society deems females as the caregivers.

Think about it. If a child gets sick, and one of the parents has to take off work, who do you think it will be, regardless of who gets paid more. More than likely it would be the mother.

I'm not saying that there aren't instances where men ARE paid more than women in the exact same job, but the same could be said in reverse.

Did you know that male models are paid on average a third of what female models make, and that they aren't given nearly as much respect?

As a woman, i think that ALL double standards should be done away with. Not just the ones that don't benefit us.

[tccat4]

04:22 AM on 11/05/2011

I once told a friends of mine years ago, "Just watch, They will elect a Blackman for President, before they will elect a woman."
And that the way it is.

[howie G]

03:06 AM on 11/05/2011

Sources:

[1] http://www.unwomen.org/

[2] http://www.womenshealth.gov/

[3] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/31/60minutes/main527678.shtml

[4] http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/goldin/files/homecoming.pdf

[5] http://education-portal.com/articles/Leaving_Men_Behind:_Women_Go_to_College_in_Ever-Greater_Numbers.html

[6] http://www.mediaradar.org/research_on_false_rape_allegations.php

[7] http://www.tigweb.org/youth-media/panorama/article.html?ContentID=4309&start=

[8] http://www.sustainer.org/dhm_archive/index.php?display_article=vn630spermed

[9] http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avoiceformen

[10] http://standyourground.com/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=4d7b9a846df1381b1402ccd744c9727f&topic=16416.0

[11] http://www.newswithviews.com/guest_opinion/guest68.htm

[12] http://www.falserape.net/false-rape.htm

[13] http://www.mediaradar.org/research_on_false_rape_allegations.php

[14] http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/who.html

[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_rights

[16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternity_fraud

[17] http://www.coeffic.demon.co.uk/descrim.htm

[18] http://www.rightsandwrongs.co.uk/asia/other/3873-men-family-courts-discrimination-against-men-for-being-men

[19] http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/42/15/31.2.full

[20] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/women-in-their-twenties-smash-glass-ceiling-to-reverse-pay-gap-2154836.html

[21] http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/05/08/19/guest_mark.htm

[22] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Commission_on_the_Status_of_Women

[23] http://www.ejfi.org/family/family-77.htm

[Gilbert Albright]

10:24 AM on 11/05/2011

Your links are all to FEMINIST PROPAGANDA. The U.S. Department Of Labor did an investigation and found that Discrimination is NOT the cause of the Gender Pay Gap. It found that JOB CHOICE was the cause!

Read It here: http://www.consad.com/content/reports/Gender%20Wage%20Gap%20Final%20Report.pdf

[howie G]

03:05 AM on 11/05/2011

• Men die 5 years earlier than women but no compensation is made to them for this via social security or otherwise. [10]
• A entire branch of the UN is dedicated to women, nothing for men. [1]
• There is much discussion on the status of women in society, none for men. [22]
• There are billions of dollars of tax money going into women's issues and none for men. [21] [22]
• There are branches of US Federal government dedicated to the interests of women such as health, but none for men. [2]
• Masculinity and male emotions are hardly tolerated in society.
• Global society is becoming more and more gynocentric.
• Gender warfare rages on with hardly any participation of men.
• Men are blamed for all social and world problems

[howie G]

03:04 AM on 11/05/2011

• No men's shelters. [10]
• Men have no reproductive rights and are often victims of paternity fraud. [15] [16]
• Most homeless people are men. [14]
• Men's unemployment rate is 3 times as high as female. [17]
• 80% of wealth is spent by women [10]
• Women handle 75 percent of family finances. 43 percent of those with assets over $500,000 are women. [10]
• 99% of combats deaths are male [10]
• 94% of industrial deaths male [10]
• 76% of homicides are male [10]
• Women receive custody in 84% of child custody cases. [10]
• 204 out of 205 people wrongly convicted exonerated by DNA (evidence have been men (via the innocence project) . [10]
• In America there are over 270 women's commissions but only one for men in New Hampshire. [10]
• There are over 700 women studies programs in colleges and universities but but no one teaching mens or male studies from a masculinist perspective. [10]
• Men are over half the victims of domestic violence but in over 90% of domestic violence disputes men are the ones arrested. [19] [11]
• Breast cancer funding is a national icon of funding but Prostate cancer is totally ignored while the death rates are roughly equal. [10]
• The wage gap now favor's women in their twenties. [20] [28]

[tccat4]

04:15 AM on 11/05/2011

Howie, Can't blame women, Men set themselves the agenda. Its still a male dominated society even though women do most all the housework, child care issues and low paying jobs.
Any pill invented for male birth control, has been knocked rejected by the Medical Dr. (men). Most men will deny that he has sex one time with a woman, he is the father. Many women try for child care money in court, many male will leave the area, and can't be found. Yet will marry again and produce other children
So as much as you say, "Woman have it all" Try putting on a dress and make-up and head out into the world.

[ladyjoker7413123]

05:30 AM on 11/05/2011

Most studies are from a man's perspective, so the ones from the female perspective have to be noted.
Usually it is decided between the husband and wife who gets to handle the finances. It isn't like all women rush to have ANOTHER job to do.
Everyone knows the most important male figures in history. Few people know the most important female figures in history. (There are more than people think) which is why there have to be classes for it.
Even if the world becomes dominated by women, it wouldn't be any different than when men dominated it. I'm sure it will even out eventually, if the human race doesn't go extinct first.
The wage gap is actually virtually equal. (The studies on it are mostly flawed) Women tend to take more time off then men do, since in society they are still considered the caregivers in a family. If a child gets sick it is usually the wife's responsibility to take time off to tend to them.

I'm not saying there aren't double standards. There are double standards for everything. For men and for women. For adults and children. For whites and blacks and latinos. For animals and humans.

It's human nature.

[ladyjoker7413123]

05:31 AM on 11/05/2011

Some insight.

Women aren't allowed to fight on the front lines, which is why more men die in combat then women. Men tend to work in more hazardous jobs than women, which is why men are more likely to die in an industrial accident.
Normal shelters are for men. The reason why women's shelters exist is the same reason why there are men's restrooms and women's restrooms.
The reason prostate cancer is "ignored" is that most men don't like talking about it, not that society thinks it's unimportant.
Men do have reproductive rights, most just don't fight to exorcise it, or don't KNOW that they have them.
Men have better healthcare benefits, because they are still considered to be the bread winners.
Some people are dumb and blame men for all problems. It's just something to deal with.
You can't discuss women in society without discussing men in society.
Yeah there is the double standard with domestic violence. It is the same double standard the pit bulls face. (The more damage they CAN inflict vs. the damage inflicted) It's not right, but men just aren't vocal about it until it happens to them or they are complaining about women. (In most cases)

[RosieRetro]

02:50 AM on 11/05/2011

Fifteen of our predominantly male-dominated state governments have yet to pass the Equal Rights Amendment giving all female citizens rights equal to those of all American male citizens within our U.S. Constitution.

[Mike Davis 747]

12:32 AM on 11/05/2011

So what.

[AJ Seymour]

12:14 AM on 11/05/2011

If you cut out the gender roles in this article you'll realize the title should be "Pay Largely Stagnates During Economic Slowdown".

After all, WE are all getting the brunt of this. Man and woman. Albeit women are getting less than men due to "traditional thoughts".

[evilkittiebaby]

11:10 PM on 11/04/2011

I'm sorry but I dont like this article calling people that work in healthcare uneducated. My mom is a certified home health aide and yes she only makes $10.50 an hr but she had to go to school to become certified and does more or about the same as a nurse would do. And because she works with the old and ill, she knows alot about health issues as well.

[jcaunter]

09:08 PM on 11/04/2011

Right--the pay gap is closing because men's wages are going down! Soon we'll all be equal.

[knewsreply]

09:00 PM on 11/04/2011

The following is true today and was true about my widowed mother during her working years (if she were alive today, she would be 91): “though women are more educated than men, they continue to be paid less." The women I worked with before I retired, also worked faster than the men around them and the women usually did more than one task at the same time, which the men around them didn't do. Based on the above comments, women should be paid more than men.

[DontSheeple]

09:27 PM on 11/04/2011

much like the article you just continually drivel dogmatically

[knewsreply]

09:35 PM on 11/04/2011

Is there something wrong with adding supportive examples from my personal life?

[tccat4]

04:16 AM on 11/05/2011

Some just cant handle the truth..lol

[knewsreply]

09:21 AM on 11/05/2011

Thank you.

[lletraw]

08:27 PM on 11/04/2011

My Mom had to go to work so that we could live in a house (as opposed to renting apartments). Dad's pay was not enough to save a down payment. That was in the late 50s/ early 60s. She was really in the minority, as most women at the time worked at home with the Dad working.
Gender pay differences aside, most families made it on one salary. The economy is so destroyed, for decades now, that it takes two full time salaries to live.

[loki]

07:37 PM on 11/04/2011

and disabled , blacks, and others get paid less than white women.

[miltjones65]

07:08 PM on 11/04/2011

In a man controlled society, men will always make more. They know they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Plus the Bible states that men are superior to women. Women are supposed to stay quiet and walk behind their ruler!

[xbrainxspidersx]

08:52 PM on 11/04/2011

Quick! Someone re-freeze this neanderthal!

[judylbo46]

09:21 PM on 11/04/2011

If it looks like an ape, talks like an ape, and looks like an ape, then it's probably a man.

[DontSheeple]

09:29 PM on 11/04/2011

and if it speaks ignorantly then it's probably a woman