Mind the Gap: 5 Articles on Gender-Based Pay Equity

In honor of Women's Equality Day on August 26, let's look at gender-based pay equity. Did you know that on average, according to a recent Pew analysis, American women earn less than American men, even with the same jobs, experience and qualifications? The pay gap has narrowed to 82 percent since 1980, when it was 36 percent, but has stagnated for the past 15 years. At this rate, women and men won't earn the same pay until 2059. How did we get here, and how can the gap be narrowed? Here are five articles to help answer these difficult questions.

You can read these articles using CPL's Online Resources, but I've noted if an article is available freely on the web.

"The Other Wage Gap: Moms Are Paid Less Than Dads" by Nara Schoenberg
Chicago Tribune, May 23, 2017 (also available on the Chicago Tribune website)
A 2017 study from the National Women's Law Center found that mothers are paid less than fathers in the same occupations. The reason why? It's "partly due to the fact that people still have a lot of gender stereotypes about the competence of working mothers," says Emily Martin, NWLC vice president for workplace justice.

"How a Common Interview Question Fuels the Pay Gap (and How to Stop It)" by Claire Cain Miller
New York Times, May 1, 2018 (also available on the New York Times website)
Miller describes how setting a job candidate's salary based on previous earnings perpetuates the gender pay gap. Some states and cities, including Chicago, have banned inquiries about salary in the employment process.

"'The Crown' Pay Gap Might Help You Get Ahead" by Heidi Stevens
Chicago Tribune, March 15, 2018 (also available on the Chicago Tribune website with the headline "Women, Should You Use 'The Crown' Pay Gap to Get Yourself a Raise?")
Pay inequities in Hollywood came under the radar recently in reference to the popular television series The Crown. When it became public knowledge that the actor who played Prince Philip earned more than Claire Foy, who played HRH Queen Elizabeth II herself, it was an embarrassment for the production company. Stevens talks with Ellen Bravo, an advocate for working women, about using this experience to one's benefit.

"Chicago Women in Tech Face Smaller Pay Gap Than in Silicon Valley" by Yuliana Romanyshyn
Chicago Tribune, August 13, 2017 (also available on the Chicago Tribune website)
Romanyshyn reports some good news for Chicagoans: Women in Chicago tech jobs are paid more equitably than women working in Silicon Valley.

"Bank On It: My Whisper Network Helped Me Make an Extra $10,000 Last Year" by Charlotte Cowles
Glamour, May 2018
Cowles describes another way to combat the pay gap: ask a network of trusted co-workers to share information during salary negotiations.