Economic, Security, Mobility and Equity
Passing the PWFA would mean a step towards workplace gender equity, healthy pregnancies, reduced health disparities, and the economic security of pregnant and parenting women and their families.
The rate of progress toward closing the gender pay gap did not increase in 2019. If the pace of change in the annual earnings ratio continues at the same rate as it has since 1960, it will take another 39 years, until 2059, for men and women to reach parity.1 This projection for equal pay has remained unchanged for the past four years.
Women’s Median Earnings as a Percent of Men’s Median Earnings, 1960-2019 (Full-time, Year-round Workers) with Projection for Pay Equity in 2059
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the economic security and well-being of families. In addition to finding and sustaining employment, many families are struggling with food insufficiency, a direct consequence of lost earnings. Nationally, more than 37 million Americans, including more than 11 million children are food insecure.
The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the pernicious effect of gender and racial inequality, and the profound undervaluation of some of the most essential jobs for society, ones that require the care and supports of families.
New jobs figures from July show much less job growth than in the previous month, and while women were the majority of those who gained jobs, they continue to face a higher jobs deficit than men, according to the U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics latest Employment Situation release.
The economy added 4.8 million to non-farm payroll employment, according to the latest U.S. Bureau Employment Situation Release. Yet, while women gained the majority of new job, they continue to lag further behind men in terms of getting back to pre-COVID 19 employment levels.
In the United States, women now make up more than 50 percent of the workforce, reflecting growth in health care, education, and service sectors over the last decade. The decline of the wages and real earnings of all workers over time coupled with the rise in cost of living expenses, such as housing, means that the income and earnings of women are critical to the overall economic security and wellbeing of families.
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This briefing paper presents estimates of private sector workers’ access to paid sick days in Maryland by sex, race and ethnicity, occupation, part/full-time employment status, personal earnings and county of residence through analysis of government data sources, including the 2010–2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and the 2010–2012 American Community Survey (ACS).
