Equal Pay Day Marks Another Year of Unequal Pay for Women

Today is Equal Pay Day, an event organized by the National Committee on Pay Equity to call attention to the gap between what men and women earn.

Even though women overtook men in the workforce for the first time during the recession-ravaged year of 2009, statistics show that when it comes to gaining ground in earnings, we haven't come such a long way, baby. Here's a look at some of the numbers:

Half-Cent Gains: In 1963, when the Equal Pay Act became law, women who worked full-time year-round earned 59 cents for every dollar men earned. In 2008, women earned 77 cents on the dollar, an increase of just 0.4 cents -- less than a half-cent -- a year. The gap is even wider for minority women.

Difference Adds Up: On an annual basis, women earned an average of $10,622 less than men, the largest gap since 1992. Over a lifetime, that discrepancy adds up. A 2008 study by the Center for American Progress Action Fund reports that the wage gap may cost a woman an average of $434,000 over the course of her career.

Geography Matters: The wage gap can be better or worse depending on where you live, according to government data analyzed by the AAUW (formerly the American Association of University Women). For all workers over 16 of all educational levels, women fared the worst in Wyoming (with an earnings ratio of 64 percent) and the best in the District of Columbia (with an earnings ratio of 88 percent). Among college-educated workers over 25, the earnings ratio was lowest in Alaska (64 percent) and highest in Wyoming (89 percent).

Discrimination Exists: As Monster Senior Contributing Writer John Rossheim details in his article on the gender wage gap, occupational and work-life choices are two often-cited reasons behind pay inequality. However, a 2007 AAUW pay gap study of college graduates reports that even after accounting for experience, training, education and personal characteristics, "the portion of the pay gap that remains unexplained…[is] evidence of discrimination, which remains a serious problem for women in the work force." Discrimination figures on the National Committee on Pay Equity's list of the top 10 reasons behind the pay gap as well.

As many equal-wage advocacy groups point out, the wage gap is an issue for everyone, regardless of gender. With the recession putting more men out of work, more families need to get by on women's (typically lower) earnings. Lower earnings also translate into lower pension and Social Security payments for women in retirement. The proposed Paycheck Fairness Act, which passed the House in January 2009, is meant to address issues of gender-based pay inequality.

Working women, how has your salary compared to that of the men in your work or home life? Do you feel you're being paid equitably? Leave a comment below, and check out these resources:

·   How Salary Negotiation Contributes to the Wage Gap

·   Monster's Salary and Negotiation Tips Forum

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