Equal education, unequal pay: Why is there still a gender pay gap in 2024?
Not even education can close the pay gap that persists between women and men, according to a recent U.S. Census report
CHICAGO (AP) — Not even education can close the pay gap that persists between women and men, according to a recent U.S. Census report.
Whether women earn a post-secondary certificate or graduate from a top-tier university, they still make about 71 cents on the dollar compared with men at the same education level, Census research found.
That difference is coming into stark view on Equal Pay Day, and in spite of the fact that women comprise more than half of college-educated workers and participate in the labor force at record rates.
Rather than comparing full-time working men to full-time working women, the Feb. 22 Census report juxtaposes men and women with the same education caliber: graduates of certificate degree programs and those who hold bachelor’s degrees from the most selective universities, explained economist Kendall Houghton, a co-author of the research. The report also includes graduates who may have opted out of the labor force, such as women taking on child care responsibilities.
