The wage gap has closed somewhat in a lot of industries, but when it comes to insurance agents, forget it. In a new study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, insurance sales agents were ranked first when it comes to unequal pay between men and women. Women typically make $.62 cents for every male dollar owned. Other crappy fields when it comes to the wage gap? Real estate agents, marketing and sales managers, doctors (!) and retail workers. Keep reading »
Tag Archives: wage gap
Why Mothers Are Getting Screwed At Retirement Age
- This should scare all of us: many women are unable to financially provide for themselves after reaching retirement age, due to the wage gap and time women take off for raising children. Motherhood increases the wage gap and that puts elderly women at a higher risk for poverty. [Madame Noire]
- “Teenage Girl Blossoming Into Beautiful Object.” God bless you, The Onion. [The Onion]
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to write a second memoir. [TODAY News]
- Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) on why it’s about time for military women to serve in combat. [NPR] Keep reading »
Girl Talk: I’m Paid Less Because I’m A Woman, But It’s Mostly My Fault
I was talking to my guy friend about Caitlin Moran’s book How To Be A Woman, which led us to the topic of money. I said that I am a feminist, but I am not completely resistant to guys paying for my meals on dates because most guys I know make more money than women. (That is my personal experience.)
“Do you really think you make less money because you’re a woman?” he asked. “In 2012, in New York City, where everyone is equal? You really think that’s what the problem is?”
At his work, he said, women and gays made up a majority of the employees, and he hinted at the implication that he was the one being slighted, being in the white, male, heterosexual minority. Keep reading »
Are You In One Of Mitt Romney’s Binders Full Of Women Yet?
During last night’s presidential debate, the candidates were asked what they’d do to improve the status of women and ensure equal pay. And while President Obama discussed his work on the Lilly Ledbetter act, Mitt Romney accidentally said one of the most talked about phrases of the evening. Speaking to the crowd, he said that he once had the opportunity to put a board together, but was dismayed to see only male candidates presented. So:
“We took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women’s groups and said: ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”
For whatever reason, the phrase has taken off, and now there’s a Tumblr and a Facebook page devoted to Romney’s binders, where information about the wage gap and Romney’s policies are offered up. And before the debates were even through, someone had set up an @RomneysBinder Twitter account. It currently has more than 30,000 followers. I happen to think Romney’s binder is probably just filled with pictures of Delta Burke, but maybe that’s just me? [ABC News]
Check out some of the best images from the Binders Full Of Women Tumblr above!
Sorry, Ladies, The Paycheck Fairness Act Is Dunzo
Sorry, ladies, but the Paycheck Fairness Act is no more. Senate Republicans filibustered the bill and Senate Democrats fell two votes short of the 60 needed to put it to an up-or-down vote.
Generally speaking, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which passed in the House of Representatives in 2009, would have made it easier to seek damages over pay discrimination based on gender. The Paycheck Fairness Act also would have ensured employees aren’t retaliated against for seeking out info about what their colleagues get in their paychecks and would have created a new grant program to strengthen negotiation skills in girls and women.
Alas, it was not meant to be. Keep reading »
Here’s A Handy-Dandy Guide To Your State’s Wage Gap Between Men And Women
We can vote! We can make decisions about our own reproduction (sort of)! But can we get paid an equal wage for equal work? The New York Times Economix blog has a nifty map depicting the wage gap between men and women state by state. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last year women’s median income was 80.2 percent of men’s, but the differences between states vary wildly. In Connecticut, my home state, women’s median earnings in 2009 were 75 percent that of men’s. In California it was 88.7 percent and in Texas it was 81.4 percent. The most equitable place to live, as far as fair pay is concerned, is Washington, D.C., where women’s median earnings were 95.6 percent that of men’s. The worst? Louisiana, at 65 percent.
Maybe it’s time to summon up some chutzpah and ask your boss for a raise, chickydoodles. [New York Times] Keep reading »
Swedish Feminists Burn $13,000 To Protest Unequal Pay
Usually “burning money” is a figure of speech. But Sweden‘s feminist party literally set fire to $13,000 (or 10,000 Swedish kronar) to symbolize the amount of money women aren’t getting every minute compared to men. An advertising agency donated the $13K, which members of the Feminist Initiative heaped on a BBQ. According to Sweden’s statistics agency, in 2008 the average salary for women was about 19 percent less than for men. Keep reading »
Today’s Lady News: Female Scientists Earn Less Than Male Scientists Do
- An international study of female scientists found a wage gap exists six to 10 years after finishing their PhD’s. Male scientists’ salaries can grow to be anywhere from 18 to 40 percent higher than their lady counterparts over time. [Vancouver Sun]
- Underinsured African-American women die more often from breast cancer than underinsured white women, according to a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. This occurs even when the women are treated at the same hospital by the same doctors, suggesting disparities in health care even before the women get diagnosed with breast cancer. [Reuters]
- Police in Seattle say several women have reported a cyclist slapping them on the butt while they walk or jog in the park. Ew! [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
The Equal Pay Act Of 1963 Turns 45
The Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibits “discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages” was signed into law by President Kennedy 45 years ago. Since then, women have brought their earnings up, but things still aren’t quite there. For the past five years, the deficit between women’s and men’s wages has remained at about 23 to 24 cents on the dollar. Still, the number of women earning more than the national median pay level rose by 1.7 million between 2000 and 2005. Do you think men and women will ever make equal wages, or are obstacles like pregnancy and motherhood always going to prevent this from happening? [WSJ.com] Keep reading »
