Dive Brief:
- The gender pay gap is still with us according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which reports that women earn 79 cents for every dollar a man makes.
- That number is based on median income, but the "gender gap" is happening in various forms across many jobs, according to the New York Times. For example, female surgeons earn 71% of what male surgeons make, but women food preparers earn 87% of what a guy makes, according to data from Harvard economist Claudia Goldin.
- Social scientists and other interested parties, including employers, think they have a few solutions for employers (and American business in general) – including publishing salaries and teaching women to negotiate more effectively.
Dive Insight:
Other ideas run the gamut. One suggestion is to not rely on previous salary data to make decisions, as they can keep new salaries lower, leaving women at even more of a disadvantage. Others: make work more possible for mothers (paid parental leave and other accommodations), and build a more flexible workplace (free scheduling, telecommuting etc.) that can accommodate caregivers of all kinds, both men and women.
Changing federal law might do some good but so far the only proposed federal legislation, the Paycheck Fairness Act, is going nowhere in Congress. California has the toughest state law, as women and men have to be paid the same for similar jobs, not just for exactly the same job at the same location. The California law also prohibits employers from retaliating against workers for discussing another employee's (or their own) compensation.
