Women earned about 77 cents for every dollar that men earned last year, the Census Bureau reported last week, a figure that’s stayed roughly the same since 2007, before the economic downturn. A combination of reasons is likely to blame for why female workers’ earnings aren’t catching up to mens’ more quickly, Hartmann said. First of all, the fact that wage growth has been slow for the nation’s bottom earners affects women more than men because they’re more likely to be concentrated in low-paying sectors. In addition, America’s lack of family-friendly medical leave and child care policies has pushed women out of the workforce, further decreasing their earning potential. Still, it’s hard to say what exactly is keeping women’s wages from going up relative to men’s, Hartmann said

Gender Pay Gap Likely Won't Go Away Until After You Retire: Study Wednesday, September 25, 2013 @ 11:48am