EQUAL PAY DAY 2010 - Study Finds Women Earn Less Than Men For The Same Occupation

On Equal Pay Day, Study Finds Women Earn Less Than Men - Whether They Do the Same or Different Jobs Whether they work in the same occupations as men or work in different occupations, women's median earnings are lower than men's, according to a new analysis by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR). Using the most recent data for full-time workers released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the study finds that there are only four occupations, out of the 108 occupations with enough men and women to estimate earnings for both groups, where women earn more than men. In the 104 others, women's median earnings are less. The occupation where women have the highest earnings compared with men is 'dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers' (the female/male earnings ratio is 111.1 percent, based on median weekly earnings in 2009 that were $400 for women, $360 for men), an occupation that ranks among the ten lowest paid occupations for men, with average earnings for both men and women well below median earnings for all workers. The pay gap is widest for 'physicians and surgeons,' an occupation that ranks among the Ten Highest Paid Occupations for both men and women; the female/male earnings ratio is 64.2 percent, based on median weekly earnings of $1,182 for women, and $1,914 for men). The data show strong occupational segregation - women working in occupations primarily done by women, and men in occupations primarily done by men. The share of men and women who worked in 'traditional occupations' (where their sex accounts for at least 75% of workers) fell slightly in 2009- but still characterizes the jobs of four of ten women, and over four of ten men; the change since 2008 is likely due to the recession; job losses were particularly severe in predominantly male sectors like construction. Compared with men, women are slightly more likely to work in nontraditional occupations (where the other gender are at least 75 percent of the workforce) - 5.5 percent of women compared with 4.5 percent of men. Typically occupations where women are in the minority have higher average earnings than occupations with a high share of women. Historical data on occupational segregation since 1972, based on the Index of Dissimilarity, shows that until the mid 1990s, occupations became more integrated. Yet since the mid 1990s there has been no further progress. We are still as unlikely to see female carpenters, and mechanical engineers or male Pre-school and kindergarten teachers, as we were 25 years ago. A Note on the Calculation of the Wage Gap The weekly gender wage gap in 2009 was 19.8 percent (reflecting a female/male earnings ratio of 80.2 percent, based on median full-time weekly earnings of $657 for women, and $819 for men). This is marginally lower than the weekly gender wage gap in 2008 of 20.1 percent (or earnings ratio of 79.9 percent). (The annual earnings gap for 2008 was 22.9 in 2008; annual data for 2009 are not yet available). View the Fact Sheet here: http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/C350a.pdf

IWPR Media Citations on Equal Pay Day In recognition of Equal Pay Day, national media outlets use IWPR's research to spotlight the gender wage gap and wage gap by occupation. Here are a couple of samples: Women in top-paying jobs still make less than men CNNMoney.com by Allanlyn Censky "CEO, pharmacist and lawyer are among the 10 most lucrative job titles for women, according to the study released Tuesday by the Institute for Women's Policy Research. But while women in those positions earned median pay topping $100,000 a year, that was just about 75% of what men with the same job titles earned." Why do Women Still Earn Less Than Men? TIME Magazine online by Laura Fitzpatrick "Skeptics who deem the 77% estimate too optimistic also note that the figure only counts women working full-time (35 hours a week or more, for the full year) and doesn't account for the fact that women are far more likely to take time off to start a family or work part-time while rearing one. Over a period of 15 years, according to a 2004 study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), a full 52% of women in the prime earning age range of 26 to 59 go through at least one full calendar year earning nothing at all, compared to just 16% of men."

Wage Gap Widens Again for Women- Canada

Wage gap widens again

More effort needed to make the wage gap disappear.
Dateline: Tuesday, February 03, 2009
by Elsie Hambrook for the Moncton Times and Transcript

New figures released this month showed that the difference between the average wages of women and men — the pay gap — had worsened for the second year in a row in New Brunswick. No media covered the report, but some of us heard about it.

In 2008, New Brunswick women working full- or part-time earned on average $16.46 per hour and men, $19.16 per hour. That's a difference of over 14 percent. The previous year, women were closer to men's average earnings — a difference of 12.6 percent, and the year before that, better still, 12 percent.

As the Canadian Labour Congress awareness campaign put it last fall: "Hurry! 30 percent off Women's Labour — When They're Equal, the Savings Will be Gone!" and in fine print, "Valid for most workplaces without a union."

The Canadian picture is similar and also worsened in 2008. Canadian women earned 84 percent of what men earned, $19.43 per hour compared to $23.18 for men.

The pay gap has fluctuated a lot in the past, improving and worsening, but generally it has been improving since 1997, when there was a 20 percent difference in the average hourly earnings of New Brunswick male and female workers.

Converting the earnings to hourly pay is the fairer method of comparing women's and men's relative earnings. Sometimes another measure is used, comparing the annual salaries of full-time workers.

That measure is even more depressing: the gap now hovers around 25 percent. Decades ago, in the 1970s, it hovered around 35 percent. In 2006, women working full-time all year in New Brunswick earned 75 percent of men's average earnings.

Whatever way you measure it, why is there still such a difference, especially since women have as much education as men?

Margaret Mead had part of the answer. The famous anthropologist noted in her travels studying societies around the world, "There are villages in which men fish and women weave, and ones in which women fish and men weave. But in either village, the work done by men is valued higher than the work done by women."

That's what pay equity is about — correcting that traditional bias against whatever is "women's work." New Brunswick does not have pay equity, but there are interesting signs of movement to end the "women discount".

As the Canadian Labour Congress awareness campaign put it last fall: "Hurry! 30 percent off Women's Labour — When They're Equal, the Savings Will be Gone!" and in fine print, "Valid for most workplaces without a union."

Unionized women earned about 97 percent of unionized men's earnings in New Brunswick in 2008 — $22.41 per hour compared to $23.22 per hour. Non-unionized women earned on average 80 percent of non-unionized men's average earnings in New Brunswick in 2008: $13.98 compared to $17.50 per hour.

The current New Brunswick government's platform includes extending pay equity to the private sector through legislation. We should see action on that promise soon, given that there is an election next year. The provincial government said in last fall's throne speech that it is going ahead with a pay equity law applying to all of the public sector — including hospitals and schools.

It is also heartening to know that three occupations that are especially low paid and female-dominated, today as ever — workers in child care centres, transition houses and home support services — are receiving early attention, with unbiased job evaluations under way and, we presume, salary adjustments in the near future.

Pay equity is only part of the explanation. There are a variety of factors usually blamed for the persistent gap between women's and men's earnings.

One factor is the segregation of women and men in the workplace. Women have certainly entered law and medicine and a few other areas, but men have certainly not crossed over to many non-traditional occupations and women are even losing ground in some sciences, engineering and trades. The great majority of women are still found in teaching, health, sales, clerical or service occupations, a smaller range than where men are found.

And when governments adopt big-budget economic rescue packages, as is happening now, regard must be paid to whether spending will increase inequality or else we can only fear that the pay gap will worsen again in the future. When we need to spend to get out of a recession, there are many ways of doing it.

Which leads to another part of the reason behind the pay gap. Though most women are in the labour force — even most mothers and most lone mothers — society has not changed enough to accommodate family life. So women interrupt their careers more often than men, sometimes because of sexual harassment, discrimination against childbearing women, lack of access to child care services, violence and unequal division of labour in the home. More women work part-time and legislation surrounding part-time work make it easy to exploit.

To finish on a positive note, we also learned this month that in 2008, female Community College graduates of the previous year, who were working full-time, earned on average 13 percent less than male graduates in New Brunswick, an improvement over the previous year when the gap was 20 percent.

A similar survey of 2005 graduates had found a pay gap of more than 14 percent and in 1997, female graduates of the previous year were earning 19.5 percent less than male graduates.


Elsie Hambrook is the new Chairperson of the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women. Her column on women's issues will appear in the Times & Transcript every Thursday. She may be reached via e-mail at the eddress below.


Email: acswcccf@gnb.ca. Website: http://www.acswcccf.nb.ca.

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