With women making about 77 percent of men’s pay nationally, the gender wage gap in San Diego is even less, with women earning about 80 percent of men’s pay, according to program analyst for the U.S. Department of Labor Kelly Jenkins-Pultz
This is because women make about 10 percent more in San Diego than they do nationally, and San Diego men only make 7 percent more than men nationally, Jenkins-Pultz said. She said the kinds of local jobs also affect the wage gap, since San Diego has a variety of science and tech jobs.
“This really reminds us that the wage gap has to do with the fact that men and women work in different professions and different professions within them have different wage structures,” women’s studies associate professor Doreen Mattingly said.
San Diego State economics alumnus David Simons said some of the other factors that go into a wage gap are unemployment, cost of living, the types of jobs available, culture, population size and the types of degrees students are earning.
A study done by the American Association of University Women shows after college graduation, women earn 7 percent less than men do in their first year of full-time work.
These numbers might not make a huge difference at first, but in time the numbers add up. According to Jenkins-Pultz, the chief economist for the U.S. Department of Labor made a conservative estimate that all women in the workplace lose more than $250,000 due to income inequality. AAUW estimated that women with a college degree will lose close to one million dollars in their lifetime.
Mattingly said this is not only a women’s issue, but a workers’ rights matter.
“I think it does a disservice to us all when it gets painted as a women vs. men issue—it’s about workers’ rights,” Mattingly said .
President Obama issued an executive order that tries to equalize the pay gap by addressing some of the elements that are in the Paycheck Fairness Act. The order prohibits federal contractors from taking action against employees who discuss their pay with each other.
“The problem with the Equal Pay Act and anti-discrimination laws is that they’re incredibly difficult to enforce; you have to know you’re being discriminated against and the burden of proof is on you,” Mattingly said. “It’s phenomenally insulting that it’s impossible to address the part that’s blatantly illegal.”
Given the steps that Obama has taken to try to equalize the wage gap and the progressive increase of women in the workforce, Simons expects the gender wage gap to narrow in the future.
“If you think back and take into consideration the amount of women that have moved into the workforce since 1950 has almost doubled, women now comprise about 46 percent of the entire workforce,” Simons said.
Mattingly said women should look at the salaries of the jobs they want before they enter the workforce and take that into account.
“There’s still a lot of magical thinking in young women when they think about their careers,” Mattingly said. “They don’t think about themselves as being responsible for their own financial security.”
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