The wage gap (the difference between men's wages and women's wages) is an important indicator of women's economic security because it reflects a major economic hurdle that endangers women’s health and well-being. Research shows that a substantial part of the wage gap is not related to women's work patterns (i.e., how many hours they work, their marital or parental status, or how long they’re in the labor force). (1)
What is the wage gap between male and female wage earners?
The Report Card uses a benchmark of women earning 100 percent of what men earn.
Data Source: Wage Gap (%), 2003-2005
EXPLANATION:
The wage gap is a term used to describe the difference of median annual income earned by non-institutionalized women and men age 16 and older who worked full-time, year-round (more than 49 weeks during the year and more than 34 hours per week) in 2003 to 2005. It is a ratio of the median earnings of women to those of men.
SOURCE:
Institute for Women's Policy Research, The Best and Worst State Economies for Women (Washington: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, December 2006), Table 1, 25. The analysis in the cited report was based on calculations using the 2004-2006 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, "Annual Social and Economic Supplement," 2005, 2006 (databases) (unpublished data available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstc/cps_table_
creator.html).