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Census Bureau
The gap between women’s and men’s pay remained about the same for the fourth straight year in 2011, as both genders got slammed by lower wages.
Women earned 77 cents for every dollar a man earned in 2011, the Census Bureau said this week as part of its extensive annual report on income and poverty.
The female-to-male earnings ratio for full-time workers has been little changed for four years, after hitting a record high of 78 percent in 2007.
Experts say the latest figures show that women aren’t making significant gains in terms of earning power – but men aren’t either.
"It’s not that gap is not closing,” said Katherine Gallagher Robbins, senior policy analyst with the National Women’s Law Center. “It’s that wages are sort of flattening.”
For men who work full-time and year-round, inflation-adjusted median earnings fell about 2.5 percent between 2010 and 2011, to $48,202, according to the Census Bureau. For women working full-time, the median, or midpoint, of annual earnings also fell by about 2.5 percent, to $37,118.
Experts say that there are other factors at work besides the lousy job market. The wage gap narrowed slowly and in fits and starts through the 1980s and 1990s, but further gains have been tough to come by.
“As a broad trend, I think we have plateaued in a way, or we may have plateaued,” said Ariane Hegewisch, study director with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
Women still face some big hurdles, especially those who want to have children and still advance in their careers, she said. Child care can be quite expensive, and some women may not be willing to put in the long hours required to make it to the top when their children are young.
The wage gap has persisted even though women have made huge inroads in traditionally male-dominated fields and positions. There have been several high-profile examples of that phenomenon, including Yahoo Inc.’s decision to appoint a pregnant Marissa Mayer to the role of chief executive.
Despite such gains, research shows that women generally take home less money each week even when they are doing the same job.
Women also now get postsecondary degrees at higher rates than men, and more education generally translates into higher earnings over the course of a lifetime. But experts note that what people study, and the fields they go into, matters as well.
“There’s a huge gender segregation there,” Hegewisch said. “Men get more technical (degrees) and women are in education and social work and the kind of softer sciences, and they pay less.”
The recession of 2007-09 was so hard on male-dominated fields such as construction that some referred to it as the mancession. With men hit so hard, 38 percent of women outearned their husbands in 2009, a 3 percentage point increase from 2008.
But as the economy began recovering in 2009, it was women who fared worse in the job market.
The situation has since become more of a mixed bag. In August, the unemployment rate for men was 8.3 percent. For women, it was 7.8 percent.
“I think the story right now is that everyone is struggling,” Robbins said. “Often when people think about the wage gap they think about it as women as compared to men. A lot of (families) have both women and men who are working. We think of it as a family security issue.”
Related: States with the biggest wage gap between men, women
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Notice women made $21k in 1959 and $37k in 2011. over a 51 year period that is a .3 percent increase on average. OF course inflation makes that change a negative in terms of purchasing power. We hear this all the time from economists and social scientists. IT really shows in a graph like that. On the other hand Executive pay of the people presiding over the exportion of jobs rose thousands of percent over the same period. Where we had a robust middle class in the 1960's, payng bills for half the world and feeding half the world, we now have 45 million of our own on food stamps, and 40% of income earners don't pay Fed income tax cause they don't make enough money. Back then the bosses had the biggest houses and great life styles but it was nothing campared to the outragious lifestyles these folks have now. Yet half the people who have no retirement fund and need a dental plan will ball their fists and get all red in the neck if you say that trickle down doesn't work. They go crazy trying to defend the top 5% as if they were going to get a bonus for doing so.
Also, in about that same time frame, the rich went from having 127% greater income to 228% more in wages. Almost a 50% increase.
How's that trickle down economy working for ya?
Vote Dem in 2012!!
Gee, let's totally divert from the issue. Vote Dem in 2012 so salaries can continue to flatten!
We need to give more money to the rich in the form of tax breaks - they obviously don't make enough to leave crumbs on the floor for us regular people...
Ah, isn't unfettered capitalism great? Companies are making record profits for shareholders, production has gone up but wages are flattening or going down. Does anyone see the need for strong unions again? Or maybe we should be like the European public companies and have workers represented on the boards of directors.
Every apples-to-apples study shows the real pay gap to be roughly 4%. Saying women make 77% of men in the same jobs with the same experience is just an inflammatory lie and MSNBC -- and everybody that repeats it -- knows it.
I'm all for closing that 4% gap. However if your premise is that an untrained day care worker should make as much as an electrical engineer, I immediately stop listening and so should you.
Union membership rate has nothing to do with the opening of Asian labor markets, the flooding of the labor pool with new workers (women in the 70s through 90s) and it's effect on labor supply (Economics 101) or the return/rebuilding of the post-war European and Asian manufacturing sectors. You know, the real cause of stagnant wages.
In fact union demands were largely responsible for corporations moving jobs to non-union areas...including and especially overseas.
Wages down again.
It's another Obama triumph!!!!!
Another four years of his successes and America will be transformed into what Barry wants it to be: A third world socialist failure.
What happened in America was far from what people think happened, this was exactly what they wanted to happen, when cost goes up profits goes down so the remedy is to lower wages and how can that be accomplish you create a recession now you have a surplus of unemployed willing to settle for lower pay, problem solved NOW all We need is to vote the people that thought of this great idea, YEP lets all vote REPUBLICAN that way we can all make a $1.60 an hour and the RICH can increase their pay by another 400%, Show us Democrats just how smart you all are, and you wonder why the RED STATES have the lowest pay. They tell you its due to the Mexicans taking all the job and like the fools you are you believe them, just who do you think gave them all those jobs over the years?.
" both genders got slammed by lower wages"
And yet politicians want housing costs to go UP... and refer to it as a "recovery" when it is in fact what robs consumers of discretionary spending money. The only ones who benefit from higher home prices are banks and governments collecting the property taxes.
Zathrose (#1.7) as usual your comment is disrespectful, ignorant and wrong. The President has very little control of the economy, they get too much credit and too much blame.
Productivity is up, profits are up for the corporations but wages are down for those of us who actually do the work. Who’s really gaining here? Who’s really causing this? It comes down to the corporations, and people like Romney, who don’t see that their push for short term gains result in long term crashes. In effect by pushing down the wages of the workers, who make up most of the population, they are cutting the disposable income of the customers. Customer spending, demand, is what drives the economy, not the investor.
Here's the GOP's solution to falling wages for American workers:
Americans should know that one of the few bills the GOP has passed in the House of Representatives eliminates the caps on skilled foreign workers coming into this country.
It is now in the Senate. We need to speak up NOW and put a stop to this garbage! These are American jobs!
that's just plain 'ol stupid. If you look at the chart you will see men's earnings have been roughly flat for over 30 years. Yep..........all Obama's fault
what a dope and those that voted you up
Not true, Mike.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) just published a study showing that women doctors were paid less than men even if they were in the same specialty with the same number of years experience and the same number of publications.
Nobody is talking about people in different jobs making the same money. You're trying to ignore the fact that women doing the SAME jobs make less money.
Hey, Obama is the megalomaniacal Messiah that can stop the oceans from rising and heal the planet. Raising salaries should be a cake walk for him. ROTFLMAO!!!!!!
Welcome to Obama's America:
Lower wages
Higher gas prices
Higher costs of living
Higher taxes
Higher Unemployment
.
OBAMA HAS FAILED!
TIME TO KICK HIM OUT!
Yes - kick Obama out...he hasn't fixed the Republican blunders fast enough to suit the Republicans who screwd it up the first time...that makes sense!
We're liberals. We don't believe in a messiah. that's your turf.
Until we get this posting taken down for violating the terms of Newsvine (advertising), DO NOT call this number.
This firm is one of those that gets your payment info and puts a monthly charge on your account.
Here's their complaint record from BBB:
Reason for Rating
BBB rating is based on 16 factors. Get the details about the factors considered.
Factors that lowered Lexington Law Firm's rating include:
And Romney said the other day Just give him 8 years and he can make it right, But Obama only gets 4 To fix What the republicans messed up so bad ( and intentionally I believe )
Lower wages, yup, life is good and getting better under Obama. No policies to get the country back to work? No problem! Life is good thanks to Obama. Deficits rising? No problem, it's Bush's fault! Yup, Bush messed up things so much that unemployment was 7.6% when he left office and he left us a deficit of $9.7 trillion. That's absolutely horrendous! Things are better now with the lowest unemployment since Obama took over, at 8.1% (it would be 11.5%, but, thanks to Obama, those people are no longer in the workforce and thus, no longer counted), and the deficit just passed $16 trillion!
Go Obama/Biden!
I can't believe how many of the the comments in the survey above proves plenty of sexist pigs still exist. Women earning less for the same job IS apples-to-apples comparison. Otherwise women with a lot of education and experience still earn less due to "female-dominated" industries, which have been controlled by men in executive levels.
Why does a school teacher earn less than a plumber, and why aren't more women in female-dominated fields like education rising to the high-paying administrative positions? Women are realizing they need to be a lawyer, not a paralegal, and a doctor not a nurse. Let's hope more and more get into politics. Enough of men telling women what they should be pregnant and in the kitchen.
In the meantime, it's the obstructionist Republicans who are blocking legislation like the Fair Pay Act, the Bring Jobs Home Act, and as mentioned above voted for paying foreigners more instead of investing in training American workers. Throw the jagoffs out.
witchrunner -- You're a good example of what's wrong with this country. If teachers, cops, etc. were being hired in proportion to population instead of being fired, unemployment would be 7.3% right NOW. Anyone who thinks the decade during Dubya was good, or the GOP policies such as "trickle-down" tax cuts for the rich are what we should continue with under Romney--is messed-up in the head.
Obama/Biden - 2012!
Unions are the equalizers, no one can be overlooked due to gender, age or race. Pay is job-based, so all are treated the same. When it comes to overtime they have to ask people according to their hours worked, so every has the opportunity to work it if they want to.
Most people do not know how awful working conditions were before unions, but as the unions are being eradicated they will find out first-hand.
truepatriot: What the heck is hiring teachers, cops, etc. "in proportion to population?" Is that something new that's being taught in schools? Not to say that these groups don't perform important functions, but they don't produce any wealth. In other words, they are paid by those who work in the private sector, those who produce wealth. They have been fired in the past year for 2 reasons. The first is Obama's brilliant stimulus, part of what went to the local governments to hire more teachers, cops, etc. Keep in mind, this is not the function of the federal government. The money was given to to the local governments for the sole purpose of buying the traditional union vote. Everyone knew, or should have known, that as soon as that money was used up the people who were hired were going to be fired. Why? Because local governments have to deal with their constituents! They budget money they receive. If they could have hired these extras in the first place, they would have. They really weren't needed as they weren't part of the regular budget. Contrary to what libs think, the money in local government is not unlimited. They can't just say "gee, let's hire 100 more teachers so classroom size can be 1 teacher for every 15 students instead of 1 teacher for every 20 students, or whatever. If Obama and the libs had half a brain they would understand that if you tear down the private sector then you are also tearing down the public sector.
"Trickle down" is a cute derogatory term, but I haven't a clue what the point is or what it is describing. I'm sure it is just a different term prosperity producing economic policy. But, that would suit the libs message. Of course, the opposite of trickle down is soak the rich. For some reason libs refuse to take or understand economics 101. Rather than spending a lot of time explaining, just ask one question and the answer should be obvious. If you are an employer are you going to hire more people if you have more money in your pocket or if you have less money in your pocket? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if the government takes more money out of your pocket then that leaves you with less money in your pocket. Thus, the last thing you are going to do is hire more people.
Libs (socialists) total lack of comprehension is staggering. And don't worry, you are alone in your lack of understanding. An example, take away the capitalist system based on the fundamentals of supply and demand, then how does a dictator determine how to price things that are sold? Can they keep prices artificially low? Sure, and they do. But, then what happens? The same thing that happens in every socialist society! The shelves are empty and there is rationing and long waits in lines! Happens every time the law of supply and demand is ignored. That's why socialism never works. By definition it allocates resources inefficiently.
You look around and all governmental entities are struggling to pay its bills and you seem to think that the solution is to hire more teachers and cops! With what money?
One Hat does not Fit All.
While men excell over women at some things.
Women excell over men at some things.
Men’s greater systemizing and mechanistic skills are the primary reasons why they are better than women at mathematics, physics, and engineering, because all of these fields deal with various rational “systems” governed by rules. Women’s greater empathizing and mentalistic skills are the primary reasons why they are better at languages and why they are better judges of character. Women also dominate primatology.
What happen to Trickle down ????????????????
Paul Craig Roberts is a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal.
WEEKEND EDITION SEPTEMBER 14-16, 2012
American Wipeout
Revolution From Above
by PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Today the Western peoples are experiencing the destruction of their well being that is comparable to what the one percent in Rome imposed on Roman citizens and conquered peoples. Here is how John Williams (shadowstats.com, 9-12-12) phrases the wipeout of Americans’ hopes:
“Consumers simply cannot make ends meet. Inflation-adjusted, or real, median household income declined for the fourth-straight year, plunging to its lowest level since 1995. Deflated by the CPI-U, the 2011 reading actually stood below levels seen in the late-1960s and early-1970s.”
“At the same time, despite the ongoing nature of the economic and systemic-solvency crises, and the effects of the 2008 financial panic, income dispersion—the movement of income away from the middle towards both high- and low-level extremes—has hit a record high, instead of moderating, as might be expected during periods of financial distress. Extremes in income dispersion usually foreshadow financial-market and economic calamities. With the current circumstance at a record extreme, and well above levels estimated to have prevailed before the 1929 stock-market crash and the Great Depression, increasingly difficult times are likely for the next several years.”
This chart shows where the median household income of the US Superpower, the “indispensable people,” stands at the culmination of 2011. Americans are as well off as they were in 1967-68. Most americans cannot pay for fighting multi-trillion dollar wars for 11 years, bailout trillions of dollars in uncovered casino bets by Wall Street, have their middle class jobs sent abroad by corporations, and still expect to have higher personal incomes.
Apparently, Americans are the first people in history who are so idealistic, or so thoroughly brainwashed, that they prefer to pay for wars and bail out banks than to make their mortgage payments and help their children with student loan debt.
The federal court in Germany has ruled that Germans are to be just as idealistic as Americans. The federal court has produced a ruling that it is OK for the EU to require German citizens to provide $190 billion to pay off the private banks who lent too much money to Greece.
In exchange for paying off the banks for Greece, the Greek people are to be driven into poverty and hopelessness. Pensions are cut, taxes are raised, employment is cut, social services are curtailed, prices of utilities are raised. The Greek people are to be destroyed in order that the private European banks do not lose money on their bad loans.
In the West the Revolution From Above has succeeded. The peoples are re-enserfed. The promised land is a promised land for the one percent.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/09/14/revolution-from-above/
So how is that whole "Hopey Changey" thing working out for you?
O-bummer! One day you will look back at all the unpleasant hapenings of this time ( bailouts, housing-crisis, teaparty/ occupy, wars in the mid-east <always though>, unemployment, hyper-inflation) and reflect if they were due to: Fate, Obama, or Some Other Third thing.
Its easy to explain when you see how women dominate the workplace in certain areas where compensation is lower. Laws shouldnt be passed to artificially inflate wages in these areas, if women want equal wages then they need to do equal work. Im sure everyone has a story one way or the other yet we need to let the market work.
Only in the military will a woman in a nice office who never gets her fingernails dirty, safe and sound in a controlled AC or heated building with regular good food to eat get paid the same as a man risking his life being shot at, filthy, hungry and exhausted. It's wrong that we changed the standards that allow different requirements for men and women for the same position and pay.
If women want to do the work in civilian life let them and pay them, but to just pay them a comparable wage isn't fair.
On it
As a former Marine 2111 IWR I can tell you I was RIGHT along side all those males....I did my job right along side my male counter parts and I went to the same schools and had the same exact training as those males. Before you bust on women in the military know that there are more male desk jockeys and pencil pushers than women! As far as you getting your panties in a bunch over a woman getting her fingernails dirty....Why don't you look into what I did (2111 IWR shop).
There are lots of pencil-pushers in the Air Force, male and female. Hell, if the copy machine broke down or we couldn't use powerpoint, our ability to wage war would be devastated.
That said, I do think a lot more men get their hands dirty in the military than women.
If Obama is reelected, imagine what a mess he will inherit this time!!!
He'll be in his 7th year and still blaming Bush.
We will be two decades from now and still blaming Bush II for the recession. Why? Because he will go down in history like, Hoover, for causing the 2nd worst downturn in the American economy ever!
In your mind! That is why the requirements have been changed, so women will qualify. There is a physical difference between men and women, and I'm not just talking about sex. No women will qualify to play with men in the NFL, should we change those requirements for sexual integration and equal time also.
If you really think you can measure up to men marines read some books on Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Peleliu and Guadalcanal. Get back with me after you read them. I won't go into my person experience in the Marine Corp in Viet Nam on S&D's at Hill 55 and Khe Sanh though but I can tell you "that was no place for a woman." Nothing personal, just the way I see it. Semper Fi
Good for you! Can you explain how Bush caused it?
There are women that I work with that are not qualified to do their jobs, but they are attractive.
John-755418
Excellent comment, Either you have hiding in your bomb shelter or just not able to comprehend past history in your own mind. WAKE UP.
"W" made things Worst, it's a crying shame what he did to this Nation !!!
Did you read the article? Women are being paid significantly less than men who do the same jobs?
...
Where are the women's groups as the taliban pulls the clitoris' out of young muslim women?
Nowhere to be found.
Hypocritical at best.
...
Agreed. This is the best country in the world to be a woman and they're still complaining. Regardless, this report is flawed, as I have had just as many female bosses in my professional career as I have had male bosses.
Though, I will say this regarding management styles of the two, maybe more women would get further if they did not act like satan when they got into positions of power. This is just my personal experience, but it's been that way with every female boss I have had. Based on this, if there is a variance in pay, it is deserved (I apologize to any female bosses out there that do not let the power make them nuts, but mine were evil....every last one of them).
BS. Lots of other countries have a lower gender wage gap than the United States. And better overall wages, too.
Australia. Sweden. Ireland. France. New Zealand.
Even Poland and Hungary.
OECD Gender Pay Gap
Pretty bad when your country is worse than Hungary.
It isn't the Taliban doing this. It's other muslim women. And there a many groups from the western world trying to cope with female circumcision. Much like the extreme right, this is something that will have to die out as a practice or so it seems. All of the education in the world doesn't help when women prey upon their own daughters.
Women's groups were opposed to the Taliban long before 9-11 made it cool to be opposed to the Taliban. As a feminist I wanted to see the Taliban thrown out and was glad when it happened. Then they were replaced by warlords who treated women even worse than the Taliban did.
I would say the Taliban is the GOP and the Warlords are the TeaReTards !!!
Americas #1 Enemy the TeaBaggers in Congress, they are destroying our Country !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't be ridiuclous. Numerous women's groups are working to oppose genital mutilation throughout the world. When an American medical group approved doctors "nicking" little girls' vulvas in the USA in order to satisfy cultural traditions, it was women's groups who worked very hard and were successful in having the approval for the procedure revoked. Women work at the UN and locally in those countries to stop this barbaric practice. That doesn't mean we can't multi-task and demand that we be fully compensated for our work.
This is not the "best country in the world to be a woman". There is less wage discrimination in Western Europe, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand. Scandanavia and Europe provide paid maternity (and paternity leave) and have affordable child care for working mothers. Every developed nation in the world has universal health care which we do not and most developed nations have less domestic violence and lower rates of sexual assault than we do.
Yes, women do have it better here than in Saudi Arabia but I'm constantly amazed at the men who think that we should shut up and be happy that we're allowed to leave the house without permission from males. One can see from the posts here that men don't hesitate to complain when they think that they're getting a raw deal.
Oh, please. This pandering needs to stop. I see NO clear evidence that women are earning less than men for the SAME EXACT work. Having spent 20 years combined between the military and the federal service I can clearly state that pay is even across the board and is ONLY based on time in service and grade.
So, ANY federal pay should be excluded across the board. With the numbers of active duty military and civilian federal workforce, you can exclude approximately 1.75 + million female workers from gender pay discrimination.
There is no pay for performance system in the federal workforce (the largest employer in the U.S.). Yet, women do FAR less than their male counterparts and get the same paycheck in MOST of these jobs. Standards are gender normed for women, less lifting requirements, physical performance tests are reduced and women must be escorted by men in certain areas overseas in the military. In my current job as a federal law enforcement officer, women must have at least ONE male on their team, yet the reverse isnt true for men. In short, men are required and expected to perform at one level, and women at another. Yet, they pay is the same or even more for women (they get larger clothing allowances).
I would like to see (besides Ol' Lilly) one MODERN case of a woman getting paid less for doing the exact type of work, level of output, hours worked, physical demands...etc. I want to see mirror images in the PRIVATE SECTOR. Otherwise, you are comparing apples to oranges.
Another example is when I go to Lowes. I pick up 10 pieces of sheet rock and need help loading them into my truck. I ask the person at the desk to help me. If it's a guy he comes out and helps...If it's a gal, she pages a guy to come up and help. They say they get the same pay. Is that fair?
Yes, or that women have no problem suggesting something is a man's job, man's work or making a honey do list. But it's sexist to suggest ANYTHING is a womans job.
OR, that the door is open to women applicants in the military, law enforcement, oil fields, construction...etc. Yet, they only make up 20% of all employees in those fields and less than 30% of all applicants. So, it isnt that they arent being selected...they DONT WANT those types of jobs.
In short, most women want to be a secretary or have an office job and make the same pay as a man who is doing something ten times more technical and laborious...and they cry discrimination if they dont get it.
I'm good up to the last paragraph. In my business, a manufacturer, Women are 3 of the top 4 highest earners, and they deserve it. Of the companies I've run over 25 years, I have made it a point to make sure pay is equal to performance, and by the time I moved on at least 25% of my executive team were women and pay was equal or better. My wife's company profile is very similar. It's not for every person man or woman, but the biggest change is the person who does commit to a career (man or woman), pay follows performance.
No doubt there are exceptions. However, interacting with women from all over the U.S. and the world in my military and civilian career, I can say the large majority of women are less than interested in doing anything other than clerical or administrative type jobs (basically comfort jobs). Once you start including hostility, danger, weapons, confrontation or physical demands...they're a non player.
When it comes to business or even political aspects...sure they want those jobs. But, those jobs dont always make the world go round and the data always includes ALL occupations in a lump sum. In short, men still make this economy move...not women. I guess I could say it like this. If all women quit their jobs...we still fare quite well. If all men quit their jobs...the place would fall apart nationwide. No question.
Im not being biased simply for the sake of it...Im just stating the obvious. Truck drivers, factory workers, construction, law enforcement, street departments, electricians, firemen, steel workers...etc. These are all primarily MALE jobs which women want nothing to do with and rarely apply for even though the door is open.
Rob, you're not comparing apples to apples. We're talking about same work, same duties, less pay - not this type of job vs. that type of job.
Hi Rob - I noticed that you and a lot of folks here are asking for an apples to apples comparison of what men and women earn when they do the exact same job. There's a chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on that, which we referenced in the story. It's a very interesting read. Female CEOs are earning 72 percent of what male CEOs earn, for example. And even in traditionally female-dominated professions, such as teaching, women's wages are lower than men's. One surprising area where the wage gap is quite narrow: Computer programming. Here's the chart: http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-table18-2011.pdf
Allison,
I think you may be on to something. Maybe more women should start selecting better paying career paths. If they did that, I'm thinking more would end up paid better.
The implication here is that women are mistreated by men in the work place on the issue of pay. This is rediclulous. I've been in hiring positions at three companies, and have never witnessed this. Jobs call for a specific pay range, and depending on your experience, quality and ability to promote yourself, you get what you deserve.
The reason your charts mean very little is that they do not provide the detail that is absolutely required to make an "apples to apples" comparison.
In the middle, let me understand: So if you personally have never experienced it, it MUST not exist, right?
in the middle-2260511 - You missed the point of Allison's data.
It shows that women doing EXACTLY THE SAME JOB as men, having the same responsibilities and with the same number of years experience ARE STILL PAID LESS.
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) just published a study showing that women doctors were paid less than men even if they were in the same specialty with the same number of years experience and the same number of publications.
All the women in the United States moving into those higher-paying positions wouldn't change that fact.
And how many times have men been treated unfairly when a woman is in charge? My ex-supervisor was a lesbian and she would bypass men for promotions.
It is rare that a woman does more work than a man. They just whine louder.
There are amazing number of sexists posting here. It's not a surprise that women suffer pay discrimination with these kinds of people making decisions in the workforce.
With real unemployment somewhere between 15-19% (depending on what groups you want to count) of course wages are flat! You'll not see another narrowing of this gap until we get real unemployment below 8% or so.
Finally, a smart comment attached to this article. Thank you Mark!
Someone here actually "gets it"...The rest of you? Not a f@*king clue!!!!
complete nonsense. women are treated exactly the same as men and no amount of poorly construed data will change that.
Exactly. Im not sure if they simply screwed up...but there werent many people at all who were making $21K annually, let alone $30K annually in 1959.
As a GS-7 with 5 years service, my grandfather was making $4,800.00 per year in 1958. Even a GS-15 (Senior pay scale) didnt exceed $14K annually back then.
Bill, how many women have you personally interviewed to arrive at your amazing conclusion?
In 1995 I took over my supervisor's position. We went to school together, graduated at the same time, with the same degrees from the same school. He was hired 1 month ahead of me. For four years, we worked on the same projects together. When I took over, I was offered the position at 5k less than him. Why?
good, what was his salary when he first took that position ? You can't expect the pay to be same for a person with multiple years of experience at a certain position compared to somebody who is just starting out in that position. If I were to move into my supervisor's position, I certainly wouldn't expect to get paid the same as him because he's got more experience at that position.
Now THAT'S equality. EVERYBODY'S getting screwed.
Wages have dropped, but profits are up. Greed is the word and Romney wants to add to the problem. With the top !% owning 42% of the wealth, which is up for 40% two years ago, I wonder if he will be happy when that 1% owns 50%? Probably not. He won't be able to spend $200,000 for an elevator for his cars! I wonder how many of you will let him?
When the economy is growing wages go up...when it's not, they don't. "The gap between women’s and men’s pay remained the same for the fourth straight year in 2011". Businesses need an improving economy to invest. When they feel the future is good they give more in raises OR when unemployment goes down, like it did in 2003-2007 and they HAVE to pay more or lose good people. Bottom line: Let's get the economy growing at 4-5% and watch what wages do. With the higher retirement rates, it will be easier than in the past. Increase taxes on the business owner and they will have less to invest and it will take much longer.
Bush Years (2000-2008) look great for all.....closest Women have EVER BEEN to Male Earnings level. Hmmmmmmm. Then Obama , their Master, showed up and it's into the shi**er for ALL.
President Obama signed into law the lilly ledbetter fair pay act in 2009 - republicans, including Romney, do not support pay equality and defeat the bill. Your a fool if you think 2008 looked good - it was almost another great depression, but thanks to President Obama we were able to avoid that.
Khaleeshe,
Pretty funny! You should write for SNL!
um, wages drop for everyone except, TEACHERS and state workers, they always seem to get a raise, Imagine that.
Not in Florida they don't. My friend has been an elementary teacher since 1991 and after yearly pay cuts, she's now making as much as she did when she entered the profession = $32K
I Read you, but don't believe you. Where did you make up those numbers? I was working my first job in 1969 and was so pleased when I earned $6,900. and I'm a male. It was a teaching job! I see other here question your made up numbers!
All the wages are in 2011 dollars so that an apples-to-apples comparison can be made. Your 1969 wages were adjusted to 2011 dollars.
Well, if thats the case, people shouldnt be complaining Carolinagirl. According to that chart, people make more annually now compared to 1959 considering it is adjusted. Perfect case for proving people live well beyond their means.
Moderate in Madison, I hope you're not meaning Madison, Wisconsin? I'll come up there and see how moderate you are? Is your last name Wacko (Walker?)
Load of BS. Take a look a mjor heads of companies now and the work place round you every day. Drumming up BS facts to get an article published.
Dadit 61, A get the facts ! Come to Wisconsin where many teachers have just lost 30% of their salaries and schools are closing. In our community we have students learning in a hallway and in the Commons with room dividers now after having to close the middle school. All so our governor could give away $820,000,0000 in grants, loans and give a ways to businesses and corporations to create jobs. Which he hasn't, but they have sure increased their profits, but I think that is what the plan was all along!
The divide between the haves (public sector) and the have nots (private sector) grows each day.
It's a pendulum swing over the years to balance it out. In the 80's federal workers got paid fractions of what the private sector got paid. Then, pay increases were implemented to even that out in the early 90's.
But, for federal workers it's a loss today. My pay has been frozen for 3 years now. After 17 years in the federal workforce, 5 of those years as a federal correctional officer, having been stabbed once and assaulted three times by inmates...I make $45K a year GROSS. That malarchy about ALL federal workers making $100K a year is nonsense. Our minimum retirement and medical coverage is astronomical. After deductions I bring home $600 a week. Healthcare premiums are $360.00 a month for Self and Family and after 33 years of service I will retire with 46% of my gross pay, THEN they tax it. I will never fully retire.
I'm private sector, and my health premiums are $370 a month for self and family (one kid).
Sounds like you have a pension (the 46%?) ... yeah, those don't exist in the non-union private sector anymore. We get a 401k (that we pay into ourselves) which is at the whim of wal street on if it will have any value by the time we retire
So I'm not sure what you're complaining about? I'll agree that some federal workers get dumped on more than they deserve in the public opinion arena, but it's not like you're getting beat up more than private sector in terms of pay and benefits.
You know in my career almost ALL my bosses have been women. And now that I work in education the situation is the opposite. Woman are perfered over en...
Do you think it has anything to do with the so-called job creators taking an inordinately larger piece of the collective economic pie? I realize that Capital has great value in our economic system, but I believe that grossly underpaying the labor that produces goods and services is, in the long term, going to be the demise of the system.
The fact that women get into the lower paying fields is their own choice. If they went into engineering in greater numbers, the pay rates would equal. Let's have a report of pay rates in the different fields rather than an over all comparison.
Once again the media distorts the facts to support their own agenda.
Wow some peoples are dense, you did not understand a word of the article you've just been reading, admit it.
As a broad trend, I think we have plateaued in a way, or we may have plateaued,” said Ariane Hegewisch, study director with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
Hahahahah - It's a broad trend... fabricated or not.
Well, boys - do I detect you feel a bit threatened by women? Our day will come.
Nobody is threatened by women specifically. The propaganda and political agendas...yes. What is your occupation if I may ask?
With Obama as President that day better be tommorrow because no one has much time left to succeed with that idiot at the helm.
Idiot? At least he can put three words together without tipping over, unlike his predecessor. The Idiots League of the Universe's founding father.
bobbbsoxx2w;
Yes, we now have a three-way tie for the WORST POTUS for the past 50-years.
Carter, Bush43 & Obama
Three losers, three Non-Leaders, and we wonder why the US is in the mess we find ourselves today.
But hey, let's re-elect this Idiot or vote in another Idiot so we can then have a four-way tie.
When the F@*K are we, the US going to insist that we get BETTER candidates for the HIGHEST Office on Earth????????
UNIONS! The only proven method of keeping your shorts on and feeding your kids!