In January, I begin my final year of college. With graduation around the corner, I have begun looking at graduate schools and job prospects. One of the most disheartening things I expect to encounter in my employment search is the gender wage gap.
Fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, women are still paid only 77 cents for every dollar men make. This inequity deepens for women of color, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Hispanic women make about 58 percent and black women earn about 69 percent of what men make doing the same work. Over the course of her life, the average woman will lose $431,000 in wages due to the pay gap.
The wage gap affects women immediately upon graduation. A report by the American Association of University Women found millennial women will make about 82 cents for every dollar men make. This creates a financial barrier that inhibits college-age women’s ability to pay their student loans—much less purchase a car or home. Essentially, women are unable to be full participants in the economy.
And let me be clear: this inequity affects everyone. A survey conducted by Prudential Financial in 2012 found that more than half of American women are breadwinners in their households, meaning these women are forced to provide for their families with smaller paychecks.
How can we expect a slowly growing economy to fully recover when half of its participants are burdened by pay inequality? The International Monetary Fund estimates that a 10 percent decrease in pay inequality would increase the length of a period of economic growth by nearly 50 percent.
It makes sense to close the wage gap, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s smart economically. So why does the pay gap persist?
One of the most harmful factors contributing to the perpetuation of the wage gap is the idea that the inequity exists solely due to a woman’s decision to have children. Not only is this untrue—even if you adjust for motherhood and career choices, there would still be a 9-cent wage gap—but it also dangerously conflates motherhood with economic penalties, as well as ignoring the father’s role. Joan Williams, a professor at the University of California Hasting College of Law, told NPR, “Women choose to have babies; they don’t choose the discrimination that goes along with it.”
There have been attempts to remedy the gap. The Paycheck Fairness Act, which would make it easier for women to file lawsuits due to pay inequality and ensure that employees do not face retaliation due to discussing pay rate with others, was introduced to the Senate in 2012. It failed after receiving 52 votes: the vote split down party lines.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted against the measure, said the bill would “impose a real burden, particularly on small businesses.” Is ensuring businesses avoid paperwork more important than providing pathways for women to challenge discriminatory workplaces?
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., reintroduced the bill in 2013. She filed a discharge petition in an attempt to force opponents to go on record with a vote. However, every Republican present in the House voted against the petition, successfully halting the motion.
There is broad public support for a bill to close the wage gap. According to a 2010 poll by the National Partnership for Women and Families, 84 percent of registered voters said they support legislation to ensure pay equality in the workplace; yet, many members of Congress obstinately refuse to support such a bill. Ironically, those who oppose such laws also tend to represent the districts with the widest wage gaps.
I am grateful for the activists that have come before me and fought for women to enjoy basic constitutional rights. Yet, my generation has our own battles to fight. Ensuring equal pay for equal work is vital to fulfilling the promise of achieving equality for women, but it will take action of the part of women—and men—who are passionate about achieving this goal. As Sheryl Sandberg wrote in her acclaimed book “Lean In,” “social gains are never handed out. They must be seized.”
Christine Dickason is a junior public policy leadership major from Collierville, Tenn.
