By Laurie D. Willis
According to the American Association of University Women, in 2015 women were paid, on average, 80 percent of what men were paid. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there hasn’t been a significant annual change in the gender earnings ratio in the last decade.
Even gloomier, the AAUW predicts if change continues at this same slow pace, women won’t be on par with their male counterparts until 2152—well over a century from now. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize just how egregious that is.
Pay inequity has been discussed to the “nth” degree in the U.S. for years, but very little has actually been done. Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton vowed to do something about pay inequity if she made it to The White House. Sadly, she did not.
Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump boasted that he pays his female executives as much, and in some cases more, than his male executives. During the election, he and his daughter, Ivanka, promised to improve working women’s lives by saying they would fight for equal pay for equal work and guaranteeing six weeks of paid maternity leave. Yet since he’s assumed residence in The White House, President Trump has said very little about the gap between men’s and women’s salaries.
Instead, on March 27 he signed an executive order rolling back the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order signed by President Barack Obama, which mandated companies seeking government contracts adhere to some basic standards of pay equality and safety.
“This country has a long history of mistreating women when it comes to salaries,” said Carmen, a social worker in Greensboro, North Carolina, who asked that her last name be withheld. “It’s no secret women can perform the same jobs as men, oftentimes better, yet men are still paid considerably more than we are. Many politicians talk about the problem, but nothing much seems to be done about it.”
It’s an absolute shame – a damned shame if I’m really frank about it – that this country continues paying women less than men, in essence treating them like second-class citizens. We often decry the working conditions and salaries of people in other countries but for some reason have a hard time taking that proverbial look in the mirror when it comes to our own pay practices.
Founded in 1881 to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research, the AAUW continues advocating for women’s rights. According to the AAUW, in some areas of the country the pay difference is far more profound than in other areas. And while everyone harps on the 20 percent gap in salaries between men and women, the AAUW breaks it down even more.
For example, while the 80 cents women receive on the dollar to men is bad enough, it’s even worse for women of color according to AAUW officials. Likewise, AAUW statistics show that the gender gap is worse for mothers and increases with age, and women experience pay gaps in virtually all occupations. Having more education increases women’s earnings but doesn’t close the gender pay gap—and the gap makes women of color have to struggle much harder to pay off student loan debts. As a man with sisters, aunts, cousins and female friends, I’m tired of the excuses, America. It’s high time we start paying women fairly. It’s high time for President Trump to put his money where his mouth is.
