Quick Figure: Pay Equity Still Decades Away
If progress continues at the same rate as it [...]
If progress continues at the same rate as it [...]
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Employment data released in April 2022 show another month of strong job growth. Women gained the majority of total job growth and moved into men-dominated jobs, like construction. Still, women are still much further than men from reaching pre-pandemic levels.
Evidence from California suggests that construction workers face the highest COVID-19 infection rates of any other sector. IWPR’s 2021 survey of tradeswomen across states shows that most construction workers who needed to take leave during COVID-19 had to do so without pay.
If progress continue at the same rate as it has since 1985, it will take until 2059 to reach full pay equity between all women and men workers.
If progress continues at the same rate as it has since 1960, it will still take another 39 years, until 2059, to reach full equity between women and men among full-time, year-round workers.
New July jobs data show that women’s jobs grew by 649,000, marking the largest jobs growth since August 2020. Yet women’s recovery continues to lag behind men’s: Women still need 3.1 million more jobs on payroll to get back to pre-COVID levels. And, child care centers are recovering much more slowly than the overall economy, signaling difficulties for women’s return to work.
New June jobs data show the strongest monthly job growth for women since August 2020. Despite this, it will still take women another 9.3 months to get back to pre-COVID-10 levels, compared with 6.7 months for men. Further, the unemployment rate increased slightly, with rates of unemployment remaining twice as high for younger workers.
New May jobs data show that despite greater jobs gains, women’s recovery continues to lag behind that of men. Women’s jobs on payroll are still 4.2 million below pre-COVID-19 levels, compared with 3.5 million fewer jobs on payroll for men. Further, high jobs deficits in schools and child care centers point to difficulties for employed mothers and mothers wanting to return to work.