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WASHINGTON, DC - The most comprehensive governmental study to date on women's earnings shows that the gap between men's and women's earnings has stubbornly persisted over the past two decades (link to GAO report), even when accounting for employment and demographic factors. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) and John Dingell (MI-15) today released the results of the new General Accounting Office (GAO) report that examines 18 years of data on over 9,300 Americans. Some of the report's key findings include:
- Working women today are paid an average of 80 cents for every dollar that men are paid, even when accounting for factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure.
- The pay gap has persisted for the past two decades. It has remained consistent from 1983-2000, despite a sense of continued progress toward gender equality in the workplace.
- Women in the workforce are also less likely to work a full-time schedule and are more likely to leave the labor force for longer periods of time than men, further suppressing women's wages. These differing work patterns lead to an even larger earnings gap between men and women - suggesting that working women are penalized for their dual roles as wage earners and those who disproportionately care for home and family.
- Men with children appear to get an earnings boost, whereas women lose earnings. Men with children are paid about 2% more on average than men without children, according to the GAO findings, whereas women with children are paid about 2.5% less than women without children.
"The world today is vastly different than it was in 1983, but sadly, one thing that has remained the same is the pay gap between men and women," said Maloney. "After accounting for so many external factors, it seems that still, at the root of it all, men get an inherent annual bonus just for being men. If this continues, the only guarantees in life will be death, taxes and the glass ceiling. We can't let that happen." "The wage gap is real, it is persistent and it is costing hardworking families thousands of dollars annually," said Dingell. "This not just a women's issue - it's a family issue. The price of a family should not be a woman's career." In response to the GAO findings, Representatives Maloney and Dingell will seek to establish a new Center for the Study of Women and Workplace Policy at a public university that would serve as a nationwide resource for employers, women and families. The Center would follow up on the GAO study, collaborate with businesses and women's organizations on solutions to the earnings gap, and publish yearly guides on best practices for employers and family friendly workplaces for women. The GAO study updates a 2002 report it conducted for Maloney and Dingell, which examined the glass ceiling for female and male managers. This year's study used data from a more comprehensive, longitudinal study - the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The study also accounted for a slew of external factors for the first time, chief among which were the differences in men's and women's work patterns, including more leave from work to care for family. View Chart of Earnings after Key Factors were accounted for View Chart 1983 v. 2000 GAO Pay Gap Report Highlights November 20, 2003 Briefing by Reps. Maloney & Dingell The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined 18 years of data on over 9,300 Americans for a earnings study commissioned by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and John Dingell (D-MI). The new study is a follow-up to the more narrowly-focused 2002 GAO report on the earnings gap between female and male managers. Results of the GAO study show: · The pay gap is real. Women working full-time today earn an average of 80 cents for every dollar that men earn, even when accounting for demographic and work-related factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure. This 20 percent earnings gap cannot be explained due to differences in work patterns or histories. · Differing work patterns lead to an even larger earnings gap between men and women - suggesting that working women are penalized for their dual role as wage earners and those who disproportionately care for home and family obligations. The GAO study confirms that women in the workforce are less likely to work a full-time schedule and are more likely to leave the labor force for longer periods of time than men, suppressing women's earnings even further. And, men with children earn about 2% more than men without children, whereas women with children earn about 2.5% less than women without children. · The pay gap has persisted for past two decades. The GAO study confirms that the earnings gap between women and men has been consistent from 1983-2000, despite a sense of continued progress toward gender equality in the workplace.The GAO also reviewed other studies and interviewed employers and earnings experts to round out their analysis, leading to troubling questions about the persistent pay gap: Why do workplaces still maintain the same policies, practices and structures that existed when most of their workers did not have obligations to care for children and family life? Why do industries and professions dominated by women pay disproportionately less than male-dominated industries? How much does the pay gap between men and women cost families? In response to the GAO findings, Representatives Maloney and Dingell seek to establish a new Center for the Study of Women and Workplace Policy at a public university that would serve as a nationwide resource for employers, women and families. The Center would follow up on the GAO study, collaborate with businesses and women's organizations on solutions to the earnings gap, and publish yearly guides on best practices for employers and family friendly workplaces for women.
The following was prepared by the office of Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14): THE MORE THINGS CHANGE. . .
| 1983 | 2000 |
|---|
World Population | 4,690,492,539 | 6,079,006,982 | Total Number of Internet Hosts | 562 | 93,000,000 | Dow Jones Daily Average | 1,190 | 10,729.4 | Mobile Phone subscribers in U.S. | First Introduced | 109,500,000 | Most-Watched Television Show | "Dallas" | "Survivor" | WOMEN'S EARNINGS FOR EVERY MALE DOLLAR | 80.4 cents | 79.7 cents |
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