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As wage growth slows, the gender wage gap is widening
The gender wage gap has been widening for several years, after it narrowed at the start of the pandemic. That’s a drag on the entire economy.
Marketplace
By Justin Ho
We’re going to get the government’s official employment tally for June in a couple of days. The report is coming on the heels of three straight positive monthly jobs reports, in terms of the number of jobs the economy added.
That said, those reports have been telling us that wage growth has been steadily slowing. And for women, it’s slowing even more, according to an analysis of weekly earnings data by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the gender wage gap got narrower. Kate Bahn, chief economist at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, said that was thanks to more women entering the workforce, broader minimum wage protections, and better access to contraception.
“There’s research showing that that directly led to women finishing college and going on to grad school and earning money later on,” Bahn said.
Bahn said a lot of that progress was down to policy decisions by lawmakers. And by the 2000s and 2010s, that progress stalled.