National Pay Equality Day being observed on Lincoln Road

The typical full-time female worker does not make as much as her male counterpart in any state, according to a report issued by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a nonprofit research organization affiliated with graduate programs in public policy and women's studies at George Washington University.

Florida is no exception.

The report, “The Best and Worst State Economies for Women,” says that “at the present rate of progress it will take 50 years to close the wage gap nationwide.” Currently, the best “state” for working women was found to be the District of Columbia; the worst state, Arkansas.

According to the report, Florida ranks in the bottom third of an employment and earnings composite index, which combines four indicators of women’s progress: women’s earnings, the wage gap, women’s participation in the labor force and women’s representation in managerial and professional jobs.

“Women still earn less than men, at all levels; that is, women earn 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes,” said Laura Morilla, executive director of the Miami-Dade County Commission for Women.

The disparity is even worse for minority women, Morilla said.

According to the Women’s Policy Research report, on a national level, white women earn 73.1 percent of what white men do; Asian-American women earn 80.8 percent of what white men earn; black women earn 63.4 percent of what white men earn; Hispanic women earn 52.4 percent of white men’s earnings and American Indian women earn 59.8 percent of what their white male counterparts do.

“This especially impacts an area like Miami, where there are so many minority women,” Morilla said.

Minority and ethnic statistics are compared to white men’s wages, as opposed to men in general, because there are large disparities among men in terms of earnings, and this tends to skew the perspective on how women of color fare, Erica Williams, policy analyst at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, told the SunPost.

“For example, both black women and black men have low earnings, so the smaller wage gap between them doesn't represent progress for black women,” Williams said.

“So, to get at the earnings disadvantage women of color tend to experience, we compare their earnings to those of white men, who are typically more privileged.”

Michele Leber, chair of the National Committee on Pay Equality, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights coalition, told the SunPost that “while the wage gap has narrowed since 1963, when women made on average 59 cents for every dollar men made, there has been relatively little change since 1990, when women earned 72 cents.”

And a college education does not appear to make much of a difference.

A report released last month by the American Association of University Women stated that women in their first year of working, post four-year education, earn only 80 percent of their male counterparts’ paychecks, even if both sexes work in the same career field.

The gap widens as the years progress. According to the report, a decade after women graduate from college, they earn only 69 percent of what men make in the same job.

But isn’t that because most women take leave time for parenting?

“Even after controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood and other factors known to affect earnings, the research indicates that one-quarter of the pay gap remains unexplained and is likely due to sex discrimination,” the report stated.

Morilla agreed, saying that in their first year out of college both men and women have the same life issues and “don’t yet have all these family distractions and life choices to make.”

Similarly, Leber feels that not only are women “less likely to negotiate their salaries than men,” but discrimination has been built into wage structures.

She points to positions that women have historically been recruited for that pay less than other career opportunities.

“In the late 19th century, Melvil Dewey advocated recruiting women as librarians for this reason, and that field remains predominantly female and not well-paid,” Leber said.

In the text of his proposed legislation, author of the Fair Pay Act Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, states, “[Why do we] not value jobs we traditionally view as [for] women?” he asked, while pointing to gender stigmas attached to pay grades among particular occupations: meter maids make less than electric meter readers; housekeepers make less than janitors; and social workers make less than probation officers.

The gap between men and women indicates that while women may be faster in terms of wage growth, they still lag behind men, the “Best and Worst State Economies for Women” states.

Of all states in the country, Florida is in the third — and bottom — tier of female-to-male earnings ratio.

It also ranks in the bottom third of states with women in the labor force: 55.4 percent of those participating in paid work in Florida are women.

Lauren Reskin, owner of SweatRecords, located in the back of Churchill’s Pub in Miami, is not shocked at these findings.

“Unfortunately I'm not surprised that these statistics still ring true,” Reskin, who recently celebrated the record store’s two-year anniversary, said. “As one of the few women working in the club promotions arena, I've seen gender discrimination firsthand but have made sure to stand my ground.”

For Morilla, bringing states such as Florida up to par in equality is vital, as it affects poverty levels, welfare money allocation, affordable housing availability and so on.

“If the wage gap was closed, many more women could come off the welfare rolls and pay more taxes,” she said. “The whole economy would benefit; whole families would be lifted out of poverty if women were paid fairly.”

Not all wage statistics, the Institute found, are negative.

According to the report, Florida is in the top third of states for women-owned businesses, and women’s earnings have increased by 0.19 percent in the last 16 years.

However, the Policy Research analysis concludes that this may be attributed to the fact that men’s wages have been falling, making it only appear that women’s are increasing. Legislative factors also play a role in pay equality.

For example, the report lists both the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as tools that have enabled women to keep their jobs after childbirth, which “is a major factor influencing wages.”

The Miami-Dade County Commission for Women organized a march on Lincoln Road April 24 to recognize National Pay Equality Day. The approximately 50 marchers, as estimated by event Chair Debra Leibowitz, were asked to wear red to call attention to the nationwide inequalities.

While handing out information about the various gaps, the Commission for Women also pointed to two federal laws that may curb some of the disparity: the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay Act.

“[These acts] should be enacted by Congress, [and] people need to educate themselves in this subject,” Morilla said.

Reskin hopes publishing the wage gap statistics will push change.

“The pay differential is definitely unjust, but I hope it motivates other women to want to work even harder to start tipping the scales back,” Reskin said.

Morilla suggests that women get elected to company boards, as well as into the executive offices.

“Things are not going to change unless the decision-makers change,” Morilla said.

This is not to say that men do not play a very important role in pay equality, she added.

“Advocates for pay equality need to convince men — who are still the majority of decision-makers — that pay equality helps them too,” Morilla said.

“Wouldn’t a man like his wife to make more money [if that] means more money for the household?”

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