The gap between women’s and men’s wages has narrowed to a historic low, which would seem like a welcome economic milestone.
But the explanation that goes along with the numbers shows the achievement comes for all the wrong reasons.
Pay disparity has been decreasing not because women have made great progress but because men have seen their wages shrinking.
Between 2000 and 2005, the pay gap narrowed almost three percentage points to 18.3 percent, according to a recent Los Angeles Times story.
That’s a significant change from the first wage-disparity figures released by the U.S. Labor Department 33 years ago, when the difference was 36.9 percent.
In the 1980s, women made strides because they had better access to education and higher-paying jobs.
But in recent years, as the economy has undergone structural changes, men have been hit hard while women have reaped some benefits.
The shrinking of Smokestack America has undercut men’s wages. With globalization, the country has lost millions of manufacturing jobs – and these jobs tended to be dominated by men. The effect has been wage suppression for men. But some industries dominated by women, such as health care, have experienced wage growth. Between 2000 and 2005, men’s hourly wages fell 2 percent while women’s increased 3 percent.
But while women have seen modest increases, the cumulative effect has been bleak for families, according to another analysis released earlier this year. The liberal- leaning Economic Policy Institute contends that real income for the typical family is lower today than it was in 2000.
Strong productivity, increasing corporate profits and modest job creation have not translated into wage gains for many families. Economists say that’s because a weak job market hasn’t forced companies to share profits with employees.
Families are facing other pressures, such as the rising cost of health care. In Colorado, health-care premiums jumped more than 82 percent since 2000, while wages increased only 15 percent, according to a report this week by Families USA, a health- care advocacy group.
A rising tide should float all boats, but that hasn’t been the case with the American economy.
Business and government both need to consider how the profits from this country’s prosperity can be shared more equitably with all of its workers.
