Pay Equity Talking Points

Pay Equity Talking Points
 
 

• Wage disparity persists, which is why we must strengthen laws against wage discrimination.
  • In 2007, the Census Bureau reported that women working full time earn on average 22% less than their male counterparts. In other words, for every dollar earned by a man, a woman working just as hard earns only 78 cents. African American women earned 66 cents and Hispanic women earned 54 cents to every dollar earned by men.
  • Wage disparity persists across all educational levels and in all states.
  • In 2003 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that women managers consistently made less than their male counterparts and in seven of the 10 management positions in different industries, the pay gap had increased between 1995 and 2000.
  • Among workers with a high school diploma, women’s median annual income was $19,175, compared to $28,827 for men – almost $10,000 less. Among workers with a bachelor’s degree, women’s median annual income level was $32,394, compared to $50,527 earned by men – roughly $18,000 less.
     
• Eliminating the wage gap is good for families and for business.
  • If the wage gap was eliminated, annual family incomes would increase by $4,000. This would cut the poverty rate by half! Working families lose $200 billion in income annually to the wage gap.
  • Pay equity would not lead to a reduction in men’s wages. Federal law prohibits reducing pay for any employee to remedy discrimination.
  • Evidence across the world shows that increases in women’s wages as a result of pay equity efforts do not cost employers more, and implementing pay equity does not unnecessarily disrupt the economy. In fact, forward looking employers recognize that eliminating pay differentials makes good business sense and that pay equity can help with competitiveness, worker retention, and productivity.
     
• The wage gap has a long term effect on women’s economic security.
  • The wage disparity grows as women get older. From ages 19 to 24, women are paid 94% of what their male counterparts receive, but by the time these women reach the ages of 46 to 64, they will earn only 68% of what men are paid. When they retire, women who have worked full time will receive $8,000 less annually in retirement income than their male counterparts.
     
• The wage gap is not a matter of personal choice.
  • The 2003 GAO study concluded that even after accounting for “choices” such as work patterns and education, women earn an average of 80 cents for every dollar that men earn. Moreover, the GAO has found that women with children earn about 2.5 percent less than women without children, while men with children enjoy an earnings boost of 2.1 percent, compared with men without children. So mothers pay a penalty for their choices while fathers receive a bonus.