Pay gap still separates men, women of equal education

By Josh Newton

CNHI News Service

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The Clinton administration ushered in America’s first woman secretary of state, Madeleine Albright; the George W. Bush administration was witness to the first woman speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

And if Hillary Clinton gets her wish, she might actually lead the country as its first female president.

Many people believe this is a sign of a disappearing equality gap once placed between women and men. But a recent study by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation indicates women, on average, still make lower salaries than their male peers, even in the same fields of work.

The study, released Monday, shows women make only 80 percent of the salaries their male counterparts earn just one year after college.

“By looking at earnings just one year out of college, you have as level a playing field as possible,” AAUW Director of Research Catherine Hill said in a press release from the organization. “These employees don’t have a lot of experience, and for the most part, don’t have caregiving obligations, so you’d expect there to be very little difference in the wages of men and women. But surprisingly, and unfortunately, we find that women already earn less – even when they have the same major occupation as their male counterparts.”

Ten years after graduation, the gap widens, as college-educated men working full time have more authority in the workplace than their female counterparts, and are more likely to be involved in hiring and firing, supervising others, and setting pay. Furthermore, after 10 years, women earn only 69 percent of what men earn.

“I don’t think we’re a country based on equality; I don’t think any country can be completely equal,” said local resident Courtney Mobely. “To me, being ‘equal’ is like wanting to live forever: You wish it, but it can never happen. We are a society based on differences, and somebody, somewhere always feels more or less important than someone else.”

In Oklahoma, the earnings gap between college-educated men and women who work full time, year-round, is 73 percent, putting the state 31st in the nation, according to statistics from AAUW.

An AAUW analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey and other sources indicates men with college degrees in Oklahoma had median annual earnings of $51,634 in 2003-2005; median salary for women during the same time period was $37,558.

“This just proves exactly what we don’t want to believe: We are a discriminating society,” said Mark Rahe, Cherokee County retiree who has acted as manager for several retail businesses. “We all say ‘equal opportunity employer,’ but I think today, one of the problems is society can make other excuses to, say, hire a man over a woman. I think certain occupations just expect men to make up the base — construction, law enforcement, etc. What happens if a woman is more qualified than a man for the job? If they get it, many times [as the study shows], they get less responsibility and less pay.”

After controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood and other factors known to affect earnings, AAUW’s study found 25 percent of the pay gap between men and women is unexplainable, but could be “due to sex discrimination.”

“Over time, the unexplained portion of the pay gap grows,” said AAUW’s study findings.

Hill said part of the difference is based on people’s choices.

“ ... Another part is employer’s assumptions of what people’s choices will be. ... Employers assume that young women are going to leave the work force when they have children, and, therefore, don’t promote them,” said Hill.

AAUW said women’s scholastic performance in the study was not reflected in their compensation; women have slightly higher grade-point averages than men in every major, including science and math. Women who attend highly selective colleges earn the same as men who attend minimally selective colleges, according to AAUW’s study.

“The pay gap is not going to disappear just through educational achievements,” said Hill.

LeAnn Summerall, local resident, believes recent media attention to large lawsuits suggesting gender discrimination — including suits against companies as large as Wal-Mart, Costco, and Boeing — have proved the earnings gap is, at least for now, here to stay until higher-ups are forced to comply with equality laws.