Wage Gap Widens
Feature Story by Celeste Berry - 1/30/2002
Washington January 30— A surprising report released Thursday by the General Accounting Office states that not only are female managers still making less money than men in many industries, but that this wage gap actually increased during the 1995-2000 economic boom.This report comes as a shock to representatives John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) and Carolyn B. Maloney (D- NY) who requested the study to better understand the state of women in the workforce in the 21st Century. Both believe that this report demonstrates a backwards trend for women, yet find its reason difficult to pinpoint.
“I can't tell you why," Rep. Dingell said to the press about the report’s findings. "There are more questions raised by the study, frankly, than answers.”
Echoing his sentiments, Rep. Maloney added, “I really did believe it would be easier for our daughters.”
The study found that while in 1995, a full-time female communications manager earned 86 cents for every dollar a male made in her industry, in 2000, she made only 73 cents on a man's dollar.
The report also found that in only five of the 10 industries examined, do the number of women in management positions correspond proportionately to the number of women in the workforce.
Women at the top of their field also find it more difficult to balance their family and career than their male counterparts, the data suggests. While about 60 percent of married female managers do not have children at home, only 40 percent of married male managers are without children.
Dingell and Maloney say that the study points to many issues that should be addressed by Congress concerning corporate regulation and government legislation in the future, including a re-examination of the ill-fated Equal Rights Amendment and current maternity-leave policies.
However, as disappointing as the results are for women, some caution against interpreting the findings as a significant blow to gender equality.
Ed Hughes, director of regulatory studies at the Cato Institute in Washington, says he knows many women who have taken time off to raise children, which along with other economic and cultural forces, he believes, might possibly explain the differences.
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, chief of staff of the council of economic advisers at the White House, agrees that other forces could be influencing the results, stating that “It's possible a lot more junior women are entering those industries, therefore lowering the average age and [consequently] the average wage."
However, Rep. Maloney repeats that this is “a wake-up call not only for corporate America, but for all America,” for while it seems to most that women are edging closer to men in equality in the workforce, the opposite is actually true.
