CHICAGO — Not even education can close the persistent wage gap between women and men, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report.
According to the Census Bureau, even if women earn a higher education or graduate from a top university, they still earn about 71 cents on the dollar compared to men with the same level of education. It has been found.
Despite the fact that women make up more than half of college-educated workers and are participating in the workforce at record rates, Equal Pay Day brings those differences into stark relief.
Rather than comparing full-time working men to full-time working women, the Feb. 22 Census Bureau report compared men and women with the same educational background, i.e., graduates of accredited degree programs and the most selective universities. He explained that he was comparing people with bachelor's degrees side by side. Economist Kendall Houghton is a co-author of the study. The report also includes graduates who may have left the workforce, such as when women took on childcare responsibilities.
Census Bureau economist and co-author Ariel Binder added: “The key takeaway here is that there are huge disparities at all levels.”
Field of study, career choice, and work hours account for much, but not all, of the variance. For example, field of study contributes significantly to the pay gap for top graduates (24.6%), but only slightly (3.8%) for less selective degree holders. In addition, working hours and weeks had a greater effect on wage inequality for certificate holders (26.4%) than for elective bachelor's degree holders (11.3%), and that labor force participation among certificate holders Binder said this suggests the gender gap is larger.
At the same time, about 31% of the disparities at each level of education remain unexplained, suggesting that factors that are less easily measured, such as gender stereotypes and discrimination, may be at play.
Chantel Adams isn't surprised that the gender pay gap persists even between men and women with the same level and quality of education, and that the gap is widening for black and Hispanic women. says.
Adams, a senior marketing executive with an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler School of Business, said qualifications alone aren't enough to offset the headwinds she faces in her career as a Black woman.
Despite taking on additional responsibilities and delivering undisputedly excellent performance, Ms. Adams was told that “I was so articulate and sharp that it was intimidating to some people.” He said he was refused a promotion.
“I have nearly $300,000 to pay for my post-high school education. I'd be surprised if I wasn't articulate,” said Adams, who is based in Durham, North Carolina.
She said her colleagues at the company, one of whom did not have an MBA, were promoted, but she was denied a promotion for two years in a row.
“It's irrational and unfair to deny someone's strengths,” Adams said. “I think it’s race-based.”
In general, young women earn close to parity with young men, said Carolina Aragao, who studies social and demographic trends at the Pew Research Center. But the gap widens between ages 35 and 44, which coincides with the age when women are most likely to have children at home.
“It doesn't work the same way for men,” Alagao said, noting that there's actually the opposite phenomenon known as the father premium, where fathers earn more than other workers, including men without children at home. He added that there is a trend.
Alagao said improvements in pay inequality have stagnated for about 20 years, despite significant increases in the representation of women in C-suite positions and in high-paying industries. Unequal childcare and housework responsibilities, declining university wage premiums, and overemployment in low-paying jobs are among the causes of persistent wage inequality.
For Adams, the best strategy to overcome these problems was to keep changing jobs. In her case, over a 10-year period, she traveled across multiple states six times.
“I knew I needed to be intentional and move with speed as I progressed in my career to counter those headwinds,” she said. “When I didn’t have that opportunity at one company, I went to another.”
While support from the Forte Foundation, a nonprofit focused on job coaching, mentorship, and the empowerment of women, has helped her succeed, Adams credits pay transparency laws and even challenges within her social circle. said even pay transparency could help alleviate the significant pay gap challenge faced by women. face of color.
But ever since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, companies' diversity efforts have increasingly become the subject of lawsuits. Adams said he is concerned that without affirmative action, racial diversity in companies could also decrease.
“The big question looming over my mind, and probably a lot of other executives' heads, is what does that mean for the diverse candidate pipeline that we may or may not have in 10 years? That's it,” Adams said.
Claire Savage reports for the Associated Press.
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