If you've read my blog at all, you've probably seen how I feel about the wage gap between men and women. For a reminder, in case you're too lazy to look back a few entries ;), women still make about 70% of what men earn.
Well I recently read a
blog post that poses an interesting theory or perhaps observation about that:
Weirdly enough, in the midst of all the job losses, the business closures and the foreclosures there is a bit of good news about the wage gap. No, the gap hasn’t closed; women still earn about 70 cents for every one dollar men earn. They may not have parity, but women are actually getting even.
You see, the wage gap in this country is due, in part, to the fact that women are concentrated in lower-wage professions like teaching, nursing and administration, while men are concentrated in higher-paying professions like investment banking and financial services. Until now, that stunk!
Well, the tide is turning. From last November through this April, American women aged 20 and up gained nearly 300,000 jobs, while American men lost nearly 700,000 jobs during that same period. Not only were the big-money men affected, the poorer boys have struggled too. Man-heavy industries like construction and manufacturing have also been hard-hit by the economic downturn.
Meanwhile, woman-heavy industries like health care and education are experiencing growth.
An interesting turn of events in our steadily downward-facing economy. But trust me, ladies, keep working the negotiations and such to try to get that wage gap closed. Just because the women-dominated fields are growing doesn't mean that women are getting paid appropriately.
But woot for having jobs and makin' money!
