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Category: Women's Economic Agenda
August 15, 2016

EPI: "Women's work" and the gender pay gap

The Economic Policy Institute took an in-depth look at the pay gap, and the factors that cause it. Finding that “Women are paid 79 cents for every dollar paid to mendespite the fact that over the last several decades millions more women have joined the workforce and made huge gains in their educational attainment,” the authors conclude that:

“The gender wage gap is real—and hurts women across the board. Too often it is assumed that this gap is not evidence of discrimination, but is instead a statistical artifact of failing to adjust for factors that could drive earnings differences between men and women. However, these factors—particularly occupational differences between women and men—are themselves affected by gender bias. Serious attempts to understand the gender wage gap should not include shifting the blame to women for not earning more. Rather, these attempts should examine where our economy provides unequal opportunities for women at every point of their education, training, and career choices.”

Read the whole study at EPI.org.

July 15, 2016

New Survey Shows Strong Support for Paid Family Leave Fund

Paid family leave, paid sick leave, and affordable childcare: these aren’t political talking points, they’re the sort of public policies that will allow working families – including Unmarried Women and the Rising American Electorate – to succeed in today’s economy. A new poll commissioned by the Work Family Strategy Council shows that these policies enjoy overwhelming support with American voters: “By a nearly 2-1 margin, 61 percent of voters in these states, which include Iowa, support the creation of a national paid family and medical leave fund, 69 percent support a paid sick days law, and 57 percent support increasing access to high-quality, affordable child care, according to the survey. Among Iowans polled, 63 percent said they support a national paid family and medical leave fund, while 25 percent said they oppose it.”

Other critical takeaways from the poll include:

  • “Overall, a majority of voters in the 15 states believe a national paid family and medical leave fund would make the country better off, while only 26 percent think it would make the country worse off.”
  • “Voters across states say they favor a law that would create a national paid family and medical leave fund: 61 percent say they favor such a law, 44 percent say they strongly favor one, while 34 percent are opposed.”
  • “A strong majority of people surveyed say they face challenges when managing job, family and personal responsibilities: 63 percent of full-time workers and 67 percent of part-time workers say they would be likely to face significant economic hardship if they had to take time from their jobs without pay to care for a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one or deal with their own serious health issue.”

Read the full article at Business Record.com

 

 

June 20, 2016

Wonkblog: How Sexism Holds Back the Economy

A new Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report “finds a correlation between states that mandate more family-friendly policy and higher rates of women working in those states.”

“Such policies, said Angel Gurria, the OECD’s secretary-general, in an interview, signal to women that “They can have babies and bosses at the same time, or be bosses themselves, rather than choose one.”

While the pay gap in America has fallen over the past few decades, Gurria warns that it is “still massive.” The report “suggests a basket of policy changes to encourage more women and African-Americans to work, and to help those groups obtain more skills and better jobs. They include “family-friendly” policies, such as mandated paid parental leave and expanded public access to day care and pre-school, that help women who might otherwise drop out of the labor force to raise their children and struggle to return to a similarly paid job in the future.”

How_sexism_holds_back_the_economy_-_The_Washington_Post

Read the full story at Washington Post’s Wonkblog.

April 12, 2016

Equal Pay Day 2016: Unmarried Women, Race, and the #WageGap

Today is Equal Pay Day: a date that symbolizes how far into 2016 the average woman would have to work just to make as much money as the average man made in 2015. Because the average woman makes 80¢ for every $1 a man makes, she’d have to work three extra months—all the way through March 2016—just to make as much as the average man made in 2015.

As we pointed out in yesterday’s post, while the wage gap for women overall is awful, the wage gap for unmarried women is even worse; the average unmarried woman makes only 60¢ for every $1 a man makes.

But unmarried women of color are the ones who suffer the most from the wage gap: For every $1 the average man makes, an unmarried African-American woman makes 52¢, an unmarried Latina makes 48¢, and an unmarried Native American woman makes only 47¢. Those numbers look even worse when we consider how long the average woman in each of those groups would have to work just to make the same amount of money the average man made in 2015:

equal-pay-breakdown

That’s just depressing.

And it’s not going to change until policymakers at the state and federal level acknowledge that there’s a problem, and take action to solve it. That’s why efforts like Equal Pay Day are so important, to put pressure on officials to do something about the wage gap.

Please do your part and spread the word.

Read the full memo from the Voter Participation Center and Lake Research Partners about the current wage gap and presidential candidates’ response to the wage gap: Equal Pay Day for Unmarried Women (PDF)

April 11, 2016

Equal Pay Day 2016: Unmarried Women and the #WageGap by State

Tomorrow, April 12, is Equal Pay Day: a date that symbolizes how far into 2016 the average woman would have to work just to make as much money as the average man made in 2015. Women make, on average, 80¢ for every $1 a man makes—a gap that adds up over time, costing the average woman $430,480 in lost income over a 40-year career.

But as terrible as that is, it’s even worse for unmarried women. The average unmarried woman makes only 60¢ for every $1 a man makes.

To find out what the wage gap for unmarried women is in your state, check out this interactive map:

The Wage Gap for Unmarried Women

Hover your mouse over a state to see that state’s wage gap for all women, married women, and unmarried women.

Pay Gap by State

Wage Gap for Unmarried Women (compared to men)
40%+
35-40%
30-35%
25-30%
20-25%
< 20%

Yes, the wage gap for women, unmarried women, and unmarried women of color is real—and it’s a problem that won’t go away unless we do something. We need to demand that our policymakers and legislators at the state and federal level take action to end the wage gap.

Read the full memo from the Voter Participation Center and Lake Research Partners about the current wage gap and presidential candidates’ response to the wage gap: Equal Pay Day for Unmarried Women (PDF)

March 17, 2016

Statistical Profile of Unmarried Women: South Dakota

Our research team has compiled available data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources to put together this statistical profile of the demographic and economic circumstances facing unmarried women in the state of South Dakota.

March 17, 2016

Statistical Profile of Unmarried Women: New Jersey

Our research team has compiled available data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources to put together this statistical profile of the demographic and economic circumstances facing unmarried women in the state of New Jersey.

March 17, 2016

Statistical Profile of Unmarried Women: New Mexico

Our research team has compiled available data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources to put together this statistical profile of the demographic and economic circumstances facing unmarried women in the state of New Mexico.

March 17, 2016

Statistical Profile of Unmarried Women: Montana

Our research team has compiled available data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources to put together this statistical profile of the demographic and economic circumstances facing unmarried women in the state of Montana.

March 4, 2016

Statistical Profile of Unmarried Women: Washington

Our research team has compiled available data from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other sources to put together this statistical profile of the demographic and economic circumstances facing unmarried women in the state of Washington.