Pieces of the Gender Equality Puzzle

Transcription

1 Pieces of the Gender Equality Puzzle Barbara Gault, Ph.D. Vice President and Executive Director, Institute for Women s Policy Research July 25, 2012

2 About IWPR Mission: The Institute for Women's Policy Research conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialogue, and strengthen families, communities, and societies. Program Areas: Poverty, Welfare, & Income Security Work & Family Employment, Education, & Economic Change Health & Safety Democracy & Society

3 Men s and Women s Labor Force Participation Rates Converging Over Time. Large Dip for Men and Women in Recession. 90 Figure 1: Men's and Women's Labor Force Participation Rates, % MEN 72.0% Labor Force Participation Rate (%) WOMEN 59.2% % 30 Source: U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2010c

4 Percent of Women and Men in the Labor Force in West Virginia and the United States, 2010 Women Men 50% 60% 59% 70% West Virginia United States Source: IWPR analysis of the 2010 American Community Survey

5 Dual-Earner Couples are the Most Common Type of Family with Children and Single Working Moms are as Numerous as Married Mothers at Home 60.0 The Increasing Responsibility of Women Workers for Family Financial Needs (All Families with Children Under 18) Dual Earner Couples Percent 30.0 Traditional Couples Single Mother Earners No Earners Single Father Earners Year Source: IWPR extracted from Current Population Survey Data.

6 U.S. Family Policies Lag Behind Other Countries Of 173 countries studied by Heymann and Earle and Hayes (2007) only four did not have governmentguaranteed paid leave programs: Liberia Papua New Guinea Swaziland The United States

7 Pace of Change in Closing the Wage Gap Has Slowed 80.0 The Gender Earnings Ratio, , Full-Time Workers Wage Ratio Year Sources: Annual data: 1955: Francine D. Blau and Marianne A. Ferber, The Economics of Women, Men, and Work, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1992), Table through 2007; U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009, Table A-4. Weekly data: 1970 and 1975: Blau and Ferber (1992), Table 5.6; 1980 through 2005: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Highlights of Women s Earnings in 2005, Table 13; 2006 and 2007: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Usual Weekly Earnings Summary, January 2008, Table 6; 2008: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, January 2009, Table 39.

8 Race and Gender Differences are Still Very Significant. White and Asian American Men Earn the Most. Hispanic Women Earn the Least. Average Annual Earnings of Women Employed Full-Time/Year-Round in the United States, by Race and Ethnicity, 2009 $51,405 $51,760 $37,496 $31,393 $38,533 $42,331 $31,824 $27,181 White Men Asian Men Black Men Hispanic Men White Women Asian American Women Black Women Hispanic Women Source: Institute for Women's Policy Research Compilation of Current Population Survey Labor Force Statistics, < (retrieved September ).

9 Female-to-Male Annual Earnings Ratio Among Full-Time Year Round Employed Workers Aged 16 and Older in Civilian Workforce, 2010 Source: IWPR analysis of the 2010 American Community Survey

10 Median Annual Earnings of Women and Men Employed Full-Time/Year-Round in West Virginia and the United States, 2010 $29,000 $42,000 Women Men $36,000 $45,500 West Virginia United States Source: IWPR analysis of the 2010 American Community Survey

11 Occupational Gender Integration Has Stalled [The Index of Dissimilarity, ] Index of Dissimilarity Less than 4 years of college 4 years of college or more Civilian labor force Based on population aged Notes: Occupations are consistently classified according to the 1990 Census occupational classification. The analysis is restricted to the civilian labor force, and to workers aged 25 to 64, as it is reasonable to expect that persons in this age group have generally completed their schooling and have not yet retired. Source: Current Population Survey, March/Annual Social and Statistical Supplement (ASEC), as provided by Miriam King, Steven Ruggles, Trent Alexander, Donna Leicack, and Matthew Sobek (2009).

12 Weekly Earnings by Gender Composition of Jobs Male- Dominated Occupations (25 percent or less female) Mixed Occupations (25.1 to 74.9 percent female) Femaledominated occupations (75 percent or more female) Wage Ratio Low-skilled $553 $435 $ % Mediumskilled Highskilled $752 $735 $ % $1,424 $1,160 $ % Source: IWPR compilation based on U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Household Data Annual Averages, Table 39.

13 Share of Women in Selected Occupations Requiring Less than Four Years of College, Share of women Dental assistants in occupation (%) 100 Hairdressers and 90 cosmetologists 80 Cashiers Photographers Mail carriers, post office Machinists Electricians Carpenters Source: IWPR compilation of data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, B-20. Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, and race, ; Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, and race (1982); Employed persons by detailed occupation and sex, annual averages; Employed persons by detailed occupation and sex, annual averages Data are from the Current Population Survey.

14 Men Outnumber Women in STEM Jobs at All Education Levels Source: Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration. Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation

15 Women Are More Likely to Be Poor at Every Age Poverty Rates by Age and Gender, % 21.2% Percent Below 100% of Poverty Line 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 17.8% 17.6% 15.7% 16.4% 10.1% 11.9% 9.6% 8.8% 8.6% 9.2% 8.3% Female Male 10.6% 10.0% 9.4% 13.3% 8.0% 5.7% 5.0% 0.0% 5 to to to to to to to to Age Group Source: Institute for Women's Policy Research extracted from US Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement 2009

16 Poverty Rates for Women and Their Families Have Increased in the Recession and Recovery. Non- Married Mothers Have Much Higher Poverty Rates than Married Mothers Notes: "Mother" refers to women age 18 and older with children under age 18 in the household. It includes grandmothers caring for children with no mother present. "All women" includes women age 18 and older without children. Source: IWPR analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

17 Food Stamps and WIC: Receipt Increases When Times are Bad Figure 2: SNAP/Food Stamps, WIC Participation, & Poverty, Number (thousands) 50,000 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 - SNAP WIC Poverty Source: Hartmann, Heidi and Hayes, Jeffrey Single Mothers in the Great Recession: How Well did the Safety Net Work? Washington, DC: Institute for Women s Policy Research.

18 Over the past 30 years, Poverty Levels Rose, but Welfare Receipt Fell. Number of individuals 50,000,000 Figure 3: AFDC/TANF Total Recipients & Poverty Levels, ,000,000 40,000,000 35,000,000 30,000,000 25,000,000 20,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 5,000, TANF Total recipients AFDC Total recipients Individuals in poverty Source: Hartmann, Heidi and Hayes, Jeffrey Single Mothers in the Great Recession: How Well did the Safety Net Work? Washington, DC: Institute for Women s Policy Research.

19 Access to Support Varies by State Source: IWPR analysis of Current Population Survey 2008 data, Women in Poverty During the Great Recession

20 Number of Men and Women with Bachelor s Degrees ( ) SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Earned Degrees Conferred, through ; Projections of Education Statistics to 2018; Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), "Degrees and Other Formal Awards Conferred" surveys, through ; and through Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Completions Survey" (IPEDS-C:87-99), and Fall 2000 through Fall 2008.

21 Percent of Women Aged 25 and Older with Four or More Years of College, 2010 Source: IWPR analysis of the 2010 American Community Survey

22 Educational Attainment of Women Aged 25 and Older in West Virginia and the United States, 2010 West Virginia United States Less than high school graduate 16% 14% High school graduate 28% 40% Some college or associate's degree 27% 30% Bachelor's degree or higher 18% 28% Source: IWPR analysis of the 2010 American Community Survey

23 Earnings for Men and Women by Educational Level ( ) $1,000 MEDIAN REAL WEEKLY WAGES FOR MEN AND WOMEN AGED 25+ BY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT $900 Male HS+ $800 $700 Female HS+ Female HS Wages ($) $600 Male HS Female more HS Male HS Male more HS $500 Female HS $400 $300 $200

24 % of Degrees in Computer Sciences and Engineering Received by Women, Education Psychology Health Professions Public Affairs/Social Services Humanities Other Biological Sciences Social Science Business and Management History Mathematics and Physical Science Engineering Female Male Source: Women Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities, NSF.

25 Campus Child Care: A Diminishing Resource 60.0% 58.0% 56.0% 54.0% 52.0% 50.0% 48.0% 46.0% Community Colleges 52.8% 53.2% 53.6% 52.9% 52.0% 51.7% 50.1% 49.0% 48.2% 47.4% Public 4-Year Institutions 58.9% 59.1% 58.4% 58.2% 57.6% 57.8% 57.6% 57.2% 55.7% 55.1% Source: IWPR analysis of data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

26 Promising Practices: Women and STEM in Community Colleges The South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center The Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing

27 Solutions Improve quality of low-wage jobs: paid sick days and family leave, flexible work, increased minimum wage. Increase women s representation and leadership: Recruit and support women candidates; Shift workplace structures to allow women s leadership Protect and Improve the social safety net e.g. cash assistance and subsidized child care Education: Support programs encouraging students to enter high demand STEM and other high paying nontraditional fields; develop supports for students with children

28 Solutions Worker advocacy: protect workers right to organize, since the wage gap is smaller among unionized workers; address concerns in specific job sectors. End Pay secrecy: make salaries transparent Value and equalize care: increase advocacy to value care work jobs and increase men s contributions to care and house work More Institutional Resources: Women s commissions, to mainstream women s concerns.