The Wage Gap Between Men and Women
Attorney Dan A. Atkerson has helped countless clients in Allen, Plano, and Frisco, TX who’ve been mistreated at their job. Discriminatory hiring practices, workplace harassment, and wrongful termination should never be tolerated. Our law firm is here to help.
We’d like to explore the wage gap and the long history of workplace gender discrimination in America. This won’t be exhaustive, but we hope it offers some perspective on why there’s a gap between what men and women earn, and what steps are taken to address this.
The Reason the Gender Income Gap Still Exists
It’s difficult for societies to overcome their long-held beliefs and biases. Traditional and regressive gender roles often limited women into the role of housewife and homemaker as opposed to breadwinner. Winning equality for women has been a centuries-long battle. Women getting the national right to vote in 1920 was a major step but not the last by any means. It took Congressional legislation to end discriminatory practices by credit card companies against women, and that was just four decades ago.
Today, even as gender roles are changing and more people are open to women as breadwinners, closing the wage gap has a long way to go. Women are generally not in positions of power at major companies, and there are pervasive sexist attitudes that keep women out of these jobs and positions in which they can build the experience necessary for higher-paid positions.
The Current Gender Gap in Pay
A report earlier this year from CNBC used numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and noted the median incomes for different age groups.
Here is a breakdown of earnings by American males:
- American men 16 to 19 years old: $501 weekly ($26,052 annually)
- American men 20 to 24 years old: $624 weekly ($32,448 annually)
- American men 25 to 34 years old: $877 weekly ($45,604 annually)
- American men 35 to 44 years old: $1,112 weekly ($57,824 annually)
- American men 45 to 54 years old: $1,138 weekly ($59,176 annually)
- American men 55 to 64 years old: $1,191 weekly ($61,932 annually)
- American men 65 years and older: $1,037 weekly ($53,924 annually)
Here is a breakdown of earnings by American females:
- American women 16 to 19 years old: $437 weekly ($22,724 annually)
- American women 20 to 24 years old: $558 weekly ($29,016 annually)
- American women 25 to 34 years old: $763 weekly ($39,676 annually)
- American women 35 to 44 years old: $877 weekly ($45,604 annually)
- American women 45 to 54 years old: $876 weekly ($45,552 annually)
- American women 55 to 64 years old: $895 weekly ($46,540 annually)
- American women 65 years and older old: $757 weekly ($39,364 annually)
Even though the wage gap has narrowed, it still persists. You’ll also note that top median earnings for women are noticeably lower than the median earnings for men.
Another Look at the Narrowing Gender Wage Gap
Here’s another look at the gender wage gap that’s worth considering. According to the Pew Research Center, women today earn about 85 cents for every dollar a man earns. That’s an improvement over the wage gap in 1980 (64 cents for every dollar) but is still a significant amount. As you can see from the numbers above, even a difference of a fraction per dollar of what a man earns can add up.
This is why our law firm is here to help. We can hold companies accountable for discriminatory practices and help you receive back pay and benefits that are equal to what you are worth.
Discuss Your Case with an Employment Law Attorney
If you live in the Allen area and have faced wage discrimination because of your gender, be sure to contact a skilled employment law and workplace discriminaiton lawyer. You can reach our law firm by phone at (214) 383-3606.