The gender pay gap in the U.S. is the salary differential between male and female employees.. There are two unique figures for the pay gap: the uncontrolled pay gap and the controlled pay gap. The uncontrolled pay gap, is based solely on the average salaries of all men and women in the United States. The controlled pay gap accounts for variations in hours worked, occupations selected education, and employment experience. The non-adjusted average female yearly salary is roughly 80% of the average male salary. The adjusted average female salary is 95% of the average male salary per year.
The discrepancy in earnings between men and women is referred to as the gender wage gap. Experts have computed this discrepancy in a variety of ways, but despite the varied estimates, there is agreement on this issue. Women earn less than men, and the disparity is more significant for women of colour.
Related: Salary differentials
What causes the gender wage gap?
These estimations of the wage gap do not represent a direct comparison of men and women performing the same jobs; instead, they represent the ratio of salaries for men and women across all industries. This calculation enables professionals to take into account the wide range of factors that contribute to the gender wage gap, including but not limited to:
1. Differences in industries or jobs worked
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Researchers can observe the impact of occupational segregation, or the division of labor between men and women based on gender norms and expectations, by calculating a wholistic wage difference. Home health aides and child care providers are examples of \"women's jobs,\" which traditionally have had a majority of female employees. These positions typically have lower pay and fewer benefits than \"men's jobs,\" which historically have had most male employees. All industries and the majority of vocations, including front-line workers, midlevel managers, and senior leaders, exhibit these gendered inequalities.
2. Differences in years of experience
Women are disproportionately forced out of a job for caregiving duties. As a result, they typically have less work experience than males. Women are more likely to return to work sooner and with greater likelihood when they have access to paid family and medical leave. However, as of March 2019, just 40% of civilian employees had access to short-term disability insurance coverage to cover their medical expenses. Only 19% of workers had access to paid family leave through their employers.
3. Differences in hours worked
Women are more likely to work part-time because they often put in fewer hours at work to accommodate childcare and other unpaid responsibilities. This results in lower hourly pay and fewer perks than full-time workers.
4. Discrimination
Despite being prohibited since 1963, gender-based pay discrimination is a pervasive practice—particularly for women of color. It can flourish particularly in organizations that forbid open discussion about pay and where workers worry about retaliation. Employers may discriminate in pay and make explicit decisions to pay women less than males when they base hiring and compensation decisions on prior salary history. This can result in pay decisions impacted by discrimination following women from job to job.
Gender pay gap in the U.S
American working women typically earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by American working males. American women experience wage disparities based on race in addition to gender disparities. Below is a list of recent statistics that illustrate these problems.
To match the incomes of white, non-Hispanic U.S. males in 2020, Latina women in the country had to work through October 2021 and even longer. The National Women's Law Center declared October 21 as Latina Equal Pay Day, capping off a series of equal pay days for other races and ethnicities. This includes the Black Women's Equal Pay Day on August 3 and Native American Women's Equal Pay Day on September 8, 2021. March 24 was the day on which all American women received equal pay to all American men.
The data science used to determine the gender wage gap in the United States was carried out by numerous reputable universities using separate data sets. The gender wage gap has persisted year after year, demonstrating that it is a systemic issue and a reflection of how society rates the work of women less than that of men.
Payscale included people with a bachelor's degree or higher in our sample when evaluating the gender pay gap in the United States by race. Particularly in the current labor market, the gender pay gap recorded by Payscale may differ from that reported by other institutions for the general workforce due to the less significant impact low-income hourly workers have on the data.
The uncontrolled gender pay disparity is $0.82 for every $1 that men make in 2022, which is the same as in the previous year. The gender wage gap reported by Payscale does not indicate that it has decreased during COVID-19. If anything, the closing of the gender pay gap in 2020 and 2021, as stated by other organizations like the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE), may result from high unemployment, particularly among lower-wage workers, which artificially reduces the female pay difference. The gender pay gap can get worse in the coming years.
The controlled gender pay gap, which is one cent closer to equality but still not equal, is $0.99 for every $1 that men make. When all compensable criteria, such as job title, education, experience, industry, job level, and hours worked are considered, the controlled gender pay gap tells us how much women get paid compared to men. Equal pay for equivalent effort is being provided here. There should be no gap.
Despite having exactly the same skills and qualifications as men, women nonetheless earn one percent less than males at the median for no discernible reason. The managed gender pay gap has been narrowing slowly, by barely a minuscule percentage per year. It has decreased by a total of $0.02 since 2015, but the decrease over the previous year..
\"Equal compensation for equal labor\" is measured by the controlled gender pay gap. The uncontrolled gender pay gap provides information about the types of jobs that women typically hold compared to men, as well as the incomes that go along with those jobs. This in turn reflects the gendered distribution of income and power as well as the relative importance of women in our society when compared to men. It's critical to comprehend the managed and uncontrolled gender pay gaps to comprehend how society views women.
The Gender Pay Gap in the U.S. by Industry
In line with gender stereotypes that suggest that women are better equipped to be nurturers and caregivers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that women are more highly represented in sectors including healthcare (76 percent), education (69 percent), and nonprofits (65 percent).
Finance & Insurance ($0.77) and Agencies & Consultancies ($0.83) have higher percentages of women than males (53 percent). Gender preconceptions that women aren't good at math or problem-solving may act against women in these industries, where the unrestricted gender pay gap is the largest. The transportation and warehousing ($0.96) sectors have the highest controlled gender pay difference. This sector may be more likely to discriminate against women due to stereotypes about how much more physically capable they are than men.
Technology, Engineering & Science, Real Estate, Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation all achieve pay equity after controlling for compensable factors. Although not as much as Construction, Energy & Utilities, Transportation & Warehousing, and Manufacturing, where gender wage discrepancies are more significant, these sectors are at least slightly dominated by men.
The Gender Pay Gap in the U.S. by Occupation
Regardless of the industry, occupation refers to the jobs that women hold. Women are most prominently represented in the occupations relating to healthcare, education, personal care services, office administrative support, and community and social service. All of these professions fit the gender stereotype that says women are more equipped to help others and providing care.
Women are paid less than men in every occupational group according to Payscale's research on the gender pay gap. The largest uncontrolled gender pay gaps were found in law ($0.63) and education ($0.75), indicating that women are more likely to be employed in lower-paying positions even in occupations where they are predominant. Healthcare Practitioners and Healthcare Support, where women predominate the most, have the least uncontrolled gender pay discrepancies.
The gender pay gap for the occupations like architecture and engineering, law, education and training, and personal care services decreases for the year 2022. When compensable factors are considered, women in these industries earn $1 for every dollar earned by males. When compensable factors are taken into account, the occupations with the most significant gender pay inequalities are farming, fishing, and forestry ($0.89), installation, maintenance, and repair ($0.94), construction & extraction ($0.95), and production ($0.96).
The Gender Pay Gap in the U.S. by Education
Pay equity is not a result of higher education. Comparing higher education levels to a high school diploma, the pay disparity is $0.98. The female pay gap shows little to no improvement. While the controlled gender pay disparity for MBAs is $0.97., The difference for doctorates is even worse at $0.96. Associate's, bachelor's, master's (non-MBA), and law degrees narrow this gap marginally.
The Gender Pay Gap in the U.S. by Location
In certain places, the gender pay gap is more pronounced than in others. The highest unregulated wage discrepancies are seen in metro areas in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Chicago. The highest controlled gender pay discrepancies are seen in the metropolitan areas of Detroit, San Jose, Houston, Cincinnati, Kansas, and St. Louis. Since women traditionally hold lower-paying jobs than men, no metro region has been able to close the unrestricted gender pay gap. This means women make less than men in every metro city. However, when data is controlled, metro areas like New York, San Diego, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Portland reduce the gender pay difference.
The Gender Pay Gap in the U.S. by Age
Women start their careers earning less than males do. The wage disparity just gets wider as the age. Women earn $0.86 for every $1 that males earn between the ages of 20 and 29. This is because women typically work in positions that pay less than those held by men. Women and men in the 20-29 age range make the same amount of money when job title and other compensable characteristics are considered.
However, the pay disparity grows between the ages of 30 and 44, with women often receiving $0.82 for every $1 that males make. Women make $0.98 when job title and other compensable characteristics are considered. Women in the uncontrolled group make $0.73 for every $1 that males make beyond age 45, widening the gender pay gap even more.
Conclusion
The gender wage gap in the United States won't shrink until 2059 if full-time, year-round incomes for men and women continue to grow at the same rate as they did between 1959 and 2015. Florida is predicted to see the smallest wage disparity, with women's wages catching up to men's in 2038.