The Gender Wage Gap Between Men And Women

What is the gender wage gap? Have you ever heard that women get paid less than men? What do you think when you hear that? Do you think it’s because women choose to work at lower paying jobs? Or is it because women are more likely than men to work part-time? The gender wage gap is the difference in pay for men and women to do the same job. In Iowa in 2013, women made 78 percent of what men made.
In 1973 women made 57% of what men made and the number of that increased 21% by 2013 putting the comparison at 78%. Over the last sixty years, American women have made incredible progress in the labor market. From 1950-2011, women’s labor force participation nearly doubled from 33.9% to 58.1%. Did you know that in 2014, women’s median wages were approximately 50% higher than what women earned a generation prior, and women earned 82% of what men made in 2011, up from 62% in 1979.
Some people believe the reason for the pay gap between men and women is because of their own personal choices. However, studies in 2012 show that after one year in college women get paid 82% of what men do. A study that was done in 2007 called Behind the Pay Gap, showed

The choice of the college major and the job chosen after graduation does reflect on the pay gap between men and women. For example, women are more likely to go into teaching than men. Teachers tend to have a lower income so this does contribute to the pay gap, whether or not teacher’s wages are considered fair. Not all of the gap can be “explained away.” After taking the college major,