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Gender Pay Gap Widening
According to the Labor Department, women from
all economic levels made significant gains in narrowing
the pay gap between them and their male
counterparts throughout the 1980s and mid-90s.
Francine Blau, a Cornell economist and researcher of
gender and pay, notes that women’s pay made the
greatest gains in the 1980s, reaching a high in the
mid-90s. At that time, women were earning 75 cents
for every dollar in hourly pay that men did, but that
trend has slowed.
Since the mid-90s, the pay gap between college-
educated women and college-educated males has
widened slightly, while the gap for women without a
college education has narrowed slightly. Reasons for
this disparity include discrimination and the choices
women make regarding their work.
The Labor Department reports that the number of
women choosing to stay home with young children is
rising. By far, the largest increase has been among
highly educated women, those who would likely earn
the highest salaries. Moreover, the rate at which
women are entering into high-earning fields is also
slowing.
Some experts argue that women have more
responsibility for care-taking of families, forcing them
to choose between career and family or perhaps
choosing lower paying jobs. Those who hold this view
contend that government-sponsored daycare
programs like those offered in many European
countries would make it easier for women to have
greater choice.
Others believe that fewer women today give such
a high priority to money. They argue that women
choose to forgo a career in favor of taking care of
family or simply prefer jobs in sectors that offer them
greater satisfaction through helping others (e.g.,
service-related or nonprofit jobs).
Claudia Goldin, a Harvard economist, asks
whether society truly wants women to have an equal
opportunity to work long weekly hours during their
prime reproductive years. While she believes women
should have an equal chance, she goes on to say
that society does not expect “women will take that
chance equally often.”
Regardless of whether women’s preferences
contribute to the pay gap, many women say they
continue to experience subtle forms of prejudice in
the workplace. The Economic Policy Institute reports
that the pay gap between men and women of similar
qualifications and work in the same field has barely
moved since 1990. Women say that discrimination
today frequently comes from bosses who believe they
treat everyone equally. Nonetheless, women report
barriers that prevent them from attaining the best
jobs. A notable example is the much-publicized class-
action lawsuit against Wal-Mart, where women allege
they are paid significantly less than their male
counterparts in similar jobs. (Source: New York
Times news service)
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Greetings!
Do-It-Write, Inc., is the career marketing company
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“'Do-so' is more important than 'say-so.'”
--Pete Seeger
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| ID Theft: Don't Be a Victim |
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A number of friends have recently had their
identities stolen. I also had a recent scare when
the American Red Cross said a laptop had been stolen
that had blood donor information on it, including
address and social security numbers. In light of this
fast-growing trend, I felt it would be helpful to alert
you of some ways you can protect yourself.
A few months ago, a lawyer gave a presentation
to my Rotary club on how to freeze access to your
credit. She said this is one of the best ways to
protect yourself from the most common form of ID
theft. By freezing access to your credit, no one can
go to a car dealer or a department store, for
example, and receive instant credit. If you plan to
purchase a car or a home, you can temporarily have
the freeze lifted.
While it costs $30 to freeze your credit, it’s well
worth the money and the small amount of time it
takes to do this in order to protect yourself. You
could end up spending years trying to undo the
damage that occurs from ID theft. Experts say
the typical victim of ID theft ends up paying more
than $30,000 by the time he or she hires a lawyer to
intervene with creditors, plus the time spent in
contacting creditors and getting a new driver’s
license, social security card, and credit cards. Years
later, victims are often still dealing with the
consequences.
For example, a receptionist in my office complex
recently had her identity stolen by an employee of a
dry cleaners where she regularly shopped. He stole
her credit card number, along with those of more
than 900 other customers. Another person had her
information stolen by someone who sifted through
her apartment complex’s trash compactor and found
unsolicited credit card offers.
Buy a confetti shredder immediately if you don’t
have one. Instead of discarding your mail or old bills,
shred every item that has your address or other
personal information on it. Lock up important
documents and bills so no one can break into your
home and gain access to your sensitive
information.
Sign up at the social security website to request
an annual report of your salary and social security
benefits. This way, you can discover early on if
someone is illegally using your social security number.
You could end up owing the government for taxes on
wages you never earned if someone steals your
information. This type of theft is happening
frequently. In North Carolina, a few month ago,
several illegal immigrants were arrested who were
running an ID theft ring. They had thousands of
people’s driver’s licenses and social security numbers.
The link I’m providing is to the North Carolina
Department of Justice, but each state offers a similar
service. Contact your state attorney general.
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To learn more . . . |
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| Fast Facts |
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Wage and Job Growth: Recent government
figures show that wages are rising for workers in
many sectors, despite the housing recession.
Fourth-quarter economic growth was higher
than third-quarter growth for the first time since
2001-2002. Economists expect job growth to
continue over the next few months. The largest gains
are expected in professional services and health care.
The January 2007 McKinsey Global Survey of
Business Executives also reports that companies
plan to increase their hiring in 2007. One interesting
trend to note is that executives in India say that
many of the new jobs created by their companies will
be offshored, mirroring the trend of their Western
counterparts. (Sources: U.S. Department of Labor
and The McKinsey Quarterly)
Behavioral and Personality Testing:
Annual “Top Ten” trends and predictions for 2007
show that the staffing industry expects personality
and behavioral testing for job candidates to become
more widespread in 2007. The Staffing Industry
Report indicates that more staffing and executive
search firms will use behavioral testing as one way to
find the best-fit candidates for their clients.
Organizations of all sizes are increasingly turning to
personality testing as part of its employment arsenal
because of the growing body of research that
demonstrates the validity and predictive value of
personality testing. (Source: Birkman International)
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