Women still have a long way to go when it comes to equality in the workforce.
According to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report, women, on average, earn just 81% of what men do. That’s a marked improvement from 1979 when women made only 62% of what men did. But, as you can see from this graph, the rate at which the gender pay gap is narrowing has slowed down.
- The gender pay gap is much smaller for younger individuals. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio was 90% in 2012, compared to 75% for 45- to 54-year-olds.
- In almost every occupation, the median weekly earnings for women are consistently lower than those for men. In management, professional and related occupations, they take home 72% what men earn; in education, training and library work, the figure is 76%; women in the arts, design, entertainment, sports and media make 84% what men in those fields earn; for healthcare, the figure is 79%; in service occupations, 80%. (This holds true even at the top of the scale: A 2012 study found that female CEOs and directors earned 42% less than than their male counterparts.)
- Among full-time workers, men are likely to work more hours per week than women. Even controlling for the longer workweek, the pay gap remains: Among full-time workers with a 40-hour workweek, women earned only 88% as much as men on average.
