Real-Life Gender Pay Gap Far Bigger Than Thought, U.S. Economists Say

We've long known about the gender pay gap—the difference between what men and women are paid for comparable work—but new research that takes into account the added family and social burdens on women suggests that the gap might be much larger than previously thought. The information is being termed the "real life" gender pay gap, and learning more about it may lead to policies that could help narrow the gap as well as empower both men and women to embrace central roles at home and at work. Click through for the full story by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate change.

By Ellen Wulfhorst

The pay gap between men and women in the United States is realistically far wider than the most commonly used figures, according to new research showing women earning less than half of men’s incomes.

The yawning gap reflects the reality that women step out of the paid labor force to care for families more often than men do, said the economic study released by the Washington-based Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

The commonly cited gender pay gap, calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau, showed women last year who worked full-time year-round earned 80 percent of what men earned.

The new research found women earned 49 cents for every man’s dollar in the years spanning 2001 to 2015 by factoring in women who leave and return to the paid work force, co-author Stephen Rose said on Thursday.

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Inequality (II): “It Will Take 170 Years for Women to Be Paid as Men Are”

ipsnews.net - Inequality (II): “It Will Take 170 Years for Women to Be Paid as Men Are” Article II of this three-part series on inequality, focuses on the impact of discrimination on women. Part III will tackle the issue of the future and quality of jobs. Part I has dealt with the alarming deepening inequality worldwide.

ROME, Jan 17 2017 (IPS) - While just eight individuals, all of them men, own the same wealth as 3.6 billion people — half of world’s total population — it will take 170 years for women to be paid the same as men, warns a new major report on inequality.

Oxfam International’s report, ‘An economy for the 99 per cent’, which was released on Jan.16, shows that the gap between rich and poor is “far greater than had been feared.”

In it, OXFAM warns that women, who are often employed in low pay sectors, face high levels of discrimination in the workplace, and who take on a disproportionate amount of unpaid care work, often find themselves at the bottom of the pile.

“On current trends it will take 170 years for women to be paid the same as men.”

Survey: 1 in 5 Women Earn Less Than Men For Same Work

Wage inequality is an important--and complex--issue. CareerBuilder surveyed 3,200 workers and more than 220 human resource managers from around the United States to assess knowledge and feelings on the issue. The survey found, among other things, that 55 percent of respondents believe there is pay inequality--which means 45 percent do not believe it, an issue that still needs work. Also interestingly, one in five human resources managers surveyed admitted that women do not earn the same pay, even for the same work. Click through to read over the other findings: The more we learn about this issue and the more we speak out, the closer we are to closing the wage gap.

CareerBuilder - Today, gender equality in the workplace is top of mind for politicians, activists, business leaders and workers. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, more than half of workers (55 percent) do not believe men and women are paid equally for the same job, and a similar proportion (51 percent) do not feel men and women are given the same career advancement opportunities.

A significant number of employers agree with 20 percent of human resource managers admitting that women do not make the same wages as their male counterparts at their organizations.

More than 3,200 workers and more than 220 human resource managers in the private sector across industries participated in the nationwide survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from November 4 and December 1, 2015.

Salary Comparison

Taking a closer look at pay comparisons, men were nearly three times as likely to report earning six figures and nearly twice as likely to earn $50,000 or more. Women were twice as likely to report earning less than $35,000.

Read the rest of the findings here.

Women are making less money than men in the virtual world, too

Even in the virtual marketplace--long held to be a great equalizer for online entrepreneurs--women make less money than men, according to a new survey. Women on eBay make about 80 cents for every dollar men make, mirroring the labor force where women average 81 cents for every dollar men make. Researchers compared male and female sellers offering identical products, and say the findings are particularly interesting because there is no argument to be made in this case--as is often made in the physical workforce--of difference of performance. Researchers and others hope shedding light on the phenomenon will make people more aware of their purchasing decisions, hopefully narrowing the gap. qz.com - On the auction website eBay, women are receiving on average about 80 cents for every dollar men earn when selling the same product, according to new research.

We already know that products aimed at women, such as razors and deodorant, tend to be more expensive on the high street, but this research suggests that this seemingly built-in gender inequality persists even when men and women are bidding for the same thing on eBay.

Considering eBay’s policy of not stating the gender of its users, the persistence of sexism—when buyers can identify a seller’s gender—points to greater disparities in other markets when gender is known. In more than half of the evaluations of sellers’ profiles that participants in the study were asked to conduct, the researchers found that buyers were able to identify a seller’s gender.

The research, by sociologist Tamar Kricheli-Katz and economist Tali Regev, looked at data from more than a million transactions from 2009 to 2012 involving the most popular products auctioned on eBay in the US. As well as finding that women sellers were paid less for their goods than men, the research also found that women buyers tend to pay 3 percent more.

Read more here.

Don't Just Get Mad at the Pay Gap—Get Ahead of It

Mind the (wage) gap: Progress toward wage equality between men and women has been slow-going in recent years, but there have been recent gains, both within companies willing to provide greater transparency and tackle inequality, and in the form of several laws recently passed and soon to be passed. But what can you do; personally; to educate yourself, know your rights, negotiate and advocate for your own fair share? Women's Health Mag has you covered. womenshealthmag.com - We’ve all heard the awful numbers: Pew research pegs the pay gap at 84 cents to a man’s dollar; a White House report has it even wider, with women at 78 cents. And apparently, it will be 118 years—nope, not an exaggeration—before men and women earn equivalent salaries for the same work, the World Economic Forum estimates. We say: not acceptable.

A growing number of companies agree and are already implementing change. Gap made its figures public in 2014; shareholders of Wal-Mart pushed for greater salary transparency last year. And global consulting firm Accenture now identifies pay discrepancies, guides women through all stages of their careers, and has pledged to grow the percentage of females it hires to at least 40 percent by 2017.

Legal reform is on the rise too: California’s Fair Pay Act, which went into effect in January, puts the burden on public and private companies to prove they haven't discriminated against women. If two people do comparable work, companies will be expected to pay them the same. “The law makes it clear that you have to look at the substance of what people do, not just their titles of positions,” says Jennifer Reisch, legal director ofEqual Rights Advocates. (The new law has employee’s backs in another way: by ensuring that they can openly discuss salaries with coworkers without fearing for their jobs.) Following California’s lead, New York enacted the Achieve Pay Equality bill last year, says Reisch, and Washington, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island to do the same soon.

Read  the rest here.