It's Equal Pay Day! How Close Are We to Pay Equity?
In the United States, women must work an average of 3 extra months each year to earn the same as men.
Equal Pay Day, March 31, 2020, raises awareness about this wage gap by marking “how far into the year women must additionally work to earn what men earned in the previous year.” In other words, women, on average, must work 15 months to earn the income men earn in 12 months.
Females working full-time in the United States earned 81.6 cents to every dollar earned by males in 2018, which results in a wage gap of 18.4%. The wage gap has decreased on average by 0.4% per year over the past decade, but the current wage gap of 18.4% remains an issue in wage equity.
During this same timeframe, women in Connecticut experienced a wage gap of 16.5%. Although this gap is marginally lower than the national average, it represents over $10,000 in income on average for women. Furthermore, the wage gap substantially exceeds 16.5% for several occupations, as seen below. Men in the legal industry earned nearly $180,000 in 2018, while women in the same occupation earned only $81,000, resulting in a wage gap of 54%. Women also experienced a substantial wage gap in firefighting (44%), health diagnosing (43%), production services (38%), and healthcare (34%).
Data from U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, 1960-2018. Analysis from CTData.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimates that women will finally reach pay parity in 2059. If change continues to crawl as it has for the past fifty years, women will work for nearly four more decades doing the same work as their male counterparts but be paid less for it. Moreover, the wage gap is further magnified for women of color, illuminating a pay and racial equity gap.
Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research analysis of data from P-38 Historical Income Tables, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements. <http://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-people.html> (accessed November 4, 2019)
As shown in the image created by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research above, Hispanic and Black women will not reach pay parity until 2224 and 2130, respectively. Understanding the intersection of gender and race as it pertains to the wage gap allows policymakers to discuss the gender wage gap in conversations around income equity and also address the impact it has on specific groups to ensure all women receive the pay they deserve.
Data for this analysis comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, 1960-2018. This is just one example of the many ways that individuals and organizations in Connecticut can use public data to understand their communities and raise awareness about these issues.
As part of CTData’s commitment to increase data literacy and build data capacity across the state, we offer workshops and trainings through the CTData Academy. Contact us at info@ctdata.org if you would like to learn more about how to use census data through data.census.gov. More information on the CTData Academy, CTData programs and events, and publicly available datasets can be found on our website at www.ctdata.org. You can also stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.