By Patsy Campos
Equal Pay Day was last Tuesday, April 12th. The Women’s Center, UMKC Career Services, The Department of Labor, and the EEOC co-sponsored the tabling event. Equal Pay Day symbolizes the amount of work women have to do to earn as much as men did the year before. However, a Wall Street Journal article asserts that, “there is no male-female wage gap” and that women actually earn about 8% more than men. A study done in 2010, conducted by the research firm Reach Advisors, included childless 22 to 30 year olds in their study and concluded that women earned 8% more than men. Is this a reliable study if it generalizes families and young people?
According to The Department of Labor’s Time Use survey, men work 8.75 hours a day while women work 8.01 hours a day and that also accounts for the pay difference since men are working 9% more than women. There is also a correlating tendency for women to work in low-risk jobs which include greater flexibility and less dangerous working conditions. In contrast, men are more likely to work in more physically demanding and dangerous jobs. Men are willing to deal with these hazards to make more money, but some people may still not be convinced. The next time you analyze the gender wage gap, it is important to make sure that you also consider the variety of factors (i.e. gender, education, parenthood and job climate) which incorporate into wage differences.