What are the factors that determine your salary? Education, experience, position?
Not only that, but gender also creates income disparities.
This is true all over the world, and on average, men of the same age tend to earn more than women.
In some parts of the United States, women earn more than men.
01
West Virginia's pay gap
West Virginia is a state in the United States. When people talk about it, they tend to refer to its coal mines and country roads, not to its place in the pay gap dialogue. According to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. census data, the Morgantown metropolitan area, the state's third-largest city and home to West Virginia University, is one of the few places in the United States where women earn more than men.
In this region, the median salary of full-time female employees under the age of 30 is 14% higher than the median wage of men in the same group. In fact, in the list of the top ten metropolitan areas for women under the age of 30, this city at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains ranks second, behind Wenatchee in Washington State.
Across the United States, gender-based wage disparities persist. On average, for every $1 a male peer receives, women earn only 82 cents. But in 22 of the 250 metropolises studied in the analysis, women's wages were on par with men's, or even higher. Why do women earn more than men in certain parts of the United States? Does this data mean that the wage gap could slowly narrow?
02
Education and Industry
Richard Frye, a senior Pew researcher who wrote the report, said there are a number of factors that can help us understand these findings.
First, education is an important factor. Fry explained that where women earn the same or earn more than men, mainly in cities on the east and west coasts of the United States, where a higher proportion of young women have a bachelor's degree. "In metropolises where young women have a greater advantage in education, the pay gap tends to be smaller," he said. Completing a bachelor's degree often raises income, and the pay gap narrows as a result. ”
This factor can at least explain why some cities in Florida and West Virginia are able to make it into the top 10, even though their statewide average wage gap is 15 percent and 26 percent, respectively. "Morgantown is a college town, as is Gainesville, Florida," Fry said. Many of the 22 metropolises, where men and women earn the same amount or women earn more than men, are home to universities. ”
These towns may be able to offer a large number of well-paid jobs. In addition, because of the "educational advantage," women who stay in these metropolitan areas after graduation can be paid higher, Frye said.
(In areas where a large number of educational institutions are located, such as West Virginia University in Morgantown, the pay gap for young women tends to be smaller.)
Education is also part of what propelled Wenatchee, Washington, to the top of the list. In this region, the median annual salary for women is 1.2 times that of young men. "In Washington, I think 60 percent of women have a bachelor's degree," Fry said. So, we're talking about the well-educated young female workforce in Washington. ”
Another factor influencing the wage gap is the type of work and industry that dominates certain regions. In the United States, women make up more than three-quarters of the jobs in the education industry. On the other hand, women's share of manufacturing jobs is less than 30 per cent. In some of the metropolitan areas with the largest wage gaps, such as Saginaw in Michigan, Decatur in Illinois, and Mansfield, Ohio, manufacturing is the most powerful industry.
Fry: "The region with the biggest pay gap is Elkhart-Goshen in Indiana, which is known as the 'Motorhome Capital of the World,' where young women earn only 67 percent of their male peers. In fact, more than 80 percent of the world's motorhome production is in northern Indiana, near the Michigan border. The prevalence of local manufacturing may have an impact on the wages of young women and young men. ”
03
Maternal factors
Women's choices about whether or when to have children can affect a regional wage gap. Across the country, and globally, women suffer from "maternal punishments" that widen the wage gap. Once women become mothers, they earn less than men. But when men become fathers, their incomes increase. It is estimated that for every dollar a father earns, the mother earns only 70 cents.
Alexandra Gillerwald, a professor of sociology at Harvard University, said motherhood is indeed the main driver of these wage gaps. "If you become a mom, it's estimated to be about 10 percent less than your salary when you didn't have children," she said. ”
As a result, in areas where women become mothers earlier, the pay gap will also be affected. Elkhart County, Indiana, has the largest pay gap in the nation. Here, the average age of a new mother is nearly three years younger than the national average age of 26.3 years. Where the average age of women at first-time children is lower, the wage gap is even greater, and vice versa. In the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania metropolitan areas, for example, women earn 102% of men's incomes. In Manhattan, which is located in this geographical group, the average age at which women give birth to their first child is more than 31 years old.
"Over time, we've seen women age more and more for the first time and the number of children born has declined," Gillerwald said. This means that more women are spending more time without parenting, and they can devote more childless time in their working lives. "As a result, they are able to continue working without interruption and keep their earnings in sync with their male counterparts."
But regardless of the area in which they live, 85 percent of American women will end up having children. In terms of wage parity, once their children are born, their careers tend to decline.
04
Does this represent progress?
While this new data has given women in many regions a better future, the problem is that the Pew report only looked at data on women ages 16 to 29. Historical patterns suggest that after the age of 30, the income gap between men and women will begin to widen.
Frye noted: "Back in 2000, young women under the age of 30 earned about 88 percent of their young male peers. Another 2019 study of this group found that "women between the ages of 35 and 48 earned only 80 percent of their peers compared to their male peers." If today's young women follow a similar pattern of life to those of the early women, the income gap may still widen."
But that's just a prediction based on data from another generation, Frye added. "Progress towards pay equality since 1990 has been slower than between 1980 and 1990, but progress is still being made year by year," Gillerwald said. I think there's reason to be optimistic about that. ”
Now people, especially young voters, are constantly pushing for policies that benefit the female workforce, such as childcare subsidies and tax credits.
"We could consider some welfare policies, such as reducing mandatory overtime," she said. This will make moms' jobs easier and make it better for them to continue their careers. ”