The Reality of the Wage Gap in Massachusetts

Despite making great strides in the last 40 years, the issue of unequal wages continues to undermine women’s economic equality. Currently, full-time female employees with a high school degree lose $700,000 over their lifetime due to the wage gap.[1] Unfortunately, the gap only widens with each subsequent level of education. For instance, women with a bachelor’s degree lose $1.2 million over their lifetimes while women with graduate degrees lose $2 million.[2] As a result, these financial losses impact a woman’s immediate and future goals, everything from whether she can attend college, buy a house or live comfortably in retirement.

 

Pay equity, on the other hand, would resolve these problems. Pay equity is a method that would eliminate “discrimination in the wage-setting system” because it would force employers to implement a gender- and race-neutral criterion for setting wages.[3] Advocates of pay equity defined the concept of comparable worth to combat the effects of women’s segregation into “pink-collar” jobs. The idea of comparable worth argues that if men and women have comparable skills, training, effort and responsibility on their jobs, even if the two genders are employed in different occupations, they should be equally compensated for equivalent work.[4] Ideally, if the wages for “pink-collar” jobs rose, advocates argue that sex-segregation would decrease as men sought out higher wages in traditionally “female” occupations.

 

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Facts and Figures: How much is the wage gap costing you?

  • Despite making great strides in the last 40 years, the issue of unequal wages continues to undermine women’s economic equality. Currently, full-time female employees with a high school degree lose $700,000 over their lifetime due to the wage gap.[5] Unfortunately, the gap only widens with each subsequent level of education. For instance, women with a bachelor’s degree lose $1.2 million over their lifetimes while women with graduate degrees lose $2 million.[6] As a result, these financial losses impact a woman’s immediate and future goals, everything from whether she can attend college, buy a house or live comfortably in retirement.

 

 

  • Between the years 2007-2008, the wage gap in the US between men and women slightly widened to 77% from 78%.[7] If one compares the median earnings of full-time, non-seasonal employees, women earned $35,745 while men earned $46, 367.[8]

 

  • For women of all educational levels, female employees in Massachusetts who worked in non-seasonal, full-time occupations earned $41,700 a year, which is 79% of men’s wages.

 

  • Some opponents of pay equity argue that the process will cut into companies’ profits, thereby disrupting the economy. However, the case study of Minnesota has disproved this theory. After passing pay equity legislation, Minnesota’s state government only spent 1% of its payroll budget per year.

 



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[1] Murphy, Evelyn. Getting Even: Why Women Don't Get Paid Like Men and What to Do About It. New York City: Simon and Schuster, 2005. 26. Print.

[2] Ibid.

[3]  “Questions and Answers on Pay Equity.” National Committee on Pay Equity. 19 November 2009. Web. 30 December 2009. http://www.pay-equity.org/info-Q&A.html.

[4] Gertzog, Irwin, and Cynthia Poe. "Comparable Worth." Dictionary of American History. Gale Cengage Learning, 2003. Web. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401800964.html>.

 

[5] Murphy, Evelyn. Getting Even: Why Women Don't Get Paid Like Men and What to Do About It. New York City: Simon and Schuster, 2005. 26. Print.

[6] Ibid.

[7] "The Gender Wage Gap: 2008." Institute of Women's Policy Research. September 2009. Web. 31 December 2009. <http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/C350.pdf>.

[8] National Committee on Pay Equity. 19 November 2009. Web. 30 December 2009. <http://www.pay-equity.org/index.html>.