This year (2018) equal pay day was celebrated on April 10th. According to the Equal Pay Day Organization, the term “equal pay day” refers to the approximate date the typical woman must work into the new year to earn what the typical man made at the end of the previous year. The typical women must work 15 months in order to make the same amount that men will make in 12 months.

The American Community Survey (ACS) conducted a census, which showed the wage gap between women and men in 2018 is $0.80, meaning for every dollar the typical men earn, the typical women earn 80 cents. Moreover, the census showed that the gap wage between men and women is even wider for women of color as compared to White, non-Hispanic men. Additionally, the census showed that the salary gap is wider for mothers compared with fathers.

Diving deeper in women’s ethnicity and how it relates to salary, for every dollar a white man makes, Asian women earn 87 cents, the average woman earns 80 cents, white women earn 79 cents, mothers overall earn 71 cents, black women earn 63 cents, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Women earn 59 cents, Native American women earn 57, and Latina women only earn 54 cents.

On average, women make 22% less per hour than men even after controlling for race and ethnicity, education, age, and location.

Women are paid less than their male colleagues in almost every occupation, regardless of whether that occupation is traditionally held by men or women. For example, in some women-dominated fields like pre-school and kindergarten teachers or as nurse practitioners, women still earn a smaller salary compared with their male colleagues.

Additionally, women are paid less than men at every level of education. In fact, women with advanced degrees are still paid less than men with bachelor’s degrees.

Any way you slice it, women experience a gender pay gap, and it is even worse for women of color. Hopefully, as we evolve as a developed society, the gender pay gap will disappear.

 

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