(NAME-MCE) Female Grads Earn Less Than Male Counterparts

[Paul C. Gorski]

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05 / 10 / 2007

Female Grads Earn Less Than Male Counterparts

By Lizeth Cazares

The California Aggie

(U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif. - Despite years of gain in the workplace, a new
study shows that come payday, it's still very much a man's world.

Using data from the 2005 U.S. Department of Education and firsthand
interviews, the American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Educational Foundation, an organization that promotes gender equality in
the workplace, shows that one year out of college, women earn 80 percent
of what equally educated men earn. The gap continues to widen 10 years
after graduation, with women earning 69 percent of what their male
counterparts make.

Even when taking into account motherhood, work hours and type of career,
the study shows that women are still paid substantially less than men.
This inequality in pay rates has a lasting effect throughout a woman's
life.

"In part, pay equity is simply a matter of fairness," the study said.
"When women are paid less than men are for comparable work, women have few
resources to support themselves and their families. Some women experience
real deprivation as a result of the pay gap, especially when they enter
their retirement years."

The study also shows that a woman's career choice has an affect on salary.
Women who major in more "male-dominated" careers such as engineering,
mathematics and physical sciences tend to make more than women who work in
education, health or psychology.

But even when choosing a higher paying job, researchers say women are
still affected by the gap.

"In education, a female-dominated major and career, women earn 95 percent
as much as their male colleagues earn," the study said. "In biology, a
mixed-gendered major, women make only 75 percent as much as men."

AAUW stressed the important role of the government in ensuring equality in
the job market.

"Despite the progress women have made, gender pay equity in the workplace
remains an issue," the study said. "Improvements to federal equal pay laws
are needed to ensure that women and men are compensated fairly when they
perform the same or comparable work."

Janie Hickok Siess, spokesperson for the California Department of Fair
Employment and Housing, said those who feel discriminated against because
of their gender should first speak with their employer.

"We suggest using an internal procedure to file a complaint," she said.
"But if they just can't, they can contact the department through our
communications center."

While the department has not conducted any studies based on gender
discrimination, statistics show that 1,842 gender discrimination
complaints were filed between 2004 and 2005.

At the UC Davis, several campus organizations work to promote equality in
the workplace, even before students graduate.

Caldeba Lomel-Loibl, gender education specialist for the UC Davis Women's
Resource Center, said the center has several programs motivated to help
women become more assertive and men become more aware and concerned about
this issue.

"The Women's Resources and Research Center is committed to working toward
financial equality through our programs and workshops on salary
negotiating, confidence in the classroom, self-esteem in the workplace and
academia, our 'Women on the Verge' series (for women about to graduate)
and one-on-one financial advising for staff women," Lomel-Loibl said in an
e-mail.

She emphasized the school's responsibility to promote equality in the
class, especially throughout varying majors.

"To that end, I think it's important that faculty, TAs and staff
understand that gender is an issue in every department and that we've come
far, but there's still a lot more we can do, especially in making science,
math and engineering departments accessible to women both as students and
as faculty," she said.

For more information on discrimination in the workplace or to file a
complaint, visit the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
website at www.dfeh.ca.gov.


-- 
Paul C. Gorski
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