Something we hear mentioned from time to time, but seems to be accepted... the gender pay gap in America. Since the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the disparity has been reduced by less than a penny a year, from 58 cents on the dollar, to 77 cents (for every dollar a man earns) today.
Women are the co-bread winner, or primary breadwinner in half of American homes... showing how many homes are affected by such a significant "discount" in pay. In a life time, a woman who graduates from college will earn $1.2 million less than her male counterparts. This isn't a trend for the United States, but one the world over. Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum released a new report (click here) showing that occupational gender equality is not a reality, and there is still a lot to do in the way of progress.
The report shows that a lot of women still struggle with moving out of entry and mid-level positions. Some say it deals with motherhood, and leaving the workforce, that it has nothing to do with sexism. But, in the case of female MBA's... from the moment they first enter the workforce, they're making $4600 less per year (click here) than their male counterparts.
It is said that the problem is... simply put... culture... culture... culture. The male dominated office culture, with its defined roles and views of each gender.
Just recently, there was a federal appeals court ruling that said a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart for pay inequality for women was allowed to go to trial (click here). So some people are fighting back. Perhaps lawsuits are the only way to force employers towards true economic equality. We'll see if this forces Wal-Mart's hand. We'll see if other companies are mindful of this, and try to curb disparities to avoid lawsuits and bad publicity themselves. We shall see
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