The Gender Pay Gap Is Alive and Well

The latest Pew Research Report on the gender pay gap is hot off the presses, and there’s good news and bad news.

The good news? 

The gap has narrowed a lot since 1982, down from a whopping 35 cents to 18 cents.

The bad news? 

The gap hasn’t budged much in 20 years, when women earned 80 cents for every dollar men earned. It’s now 82 cents.

The most interesting factoid I gleaned is the big difference of opinion between men and women about the source of the gender gap, regardless of politics.

Overall, according to the Pew study “women are much more likely than men (61% vs. 37%) to say a major reason for the gap is that employers treat women differently.” 

Here’s the breakdown by gender and political party of the percentage surveyed who believe the wage gap:

76% of Democratic women vs. 59% of Democratic men

43% of Republican women vs. 18% of Republican men

Maybe we should believe the ones who feel the pay gap is the result of their employers treating them differently? a.k.a. Sexism? (my words).

Data glutton? Insatiably curious, or just pissed off? Read more about the gender wage gap here.