“Even though working women tend to be more educated, on average, than working men, females who work full time earn only about 77 cents for every dollar that men earn annually, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. That’s up from about 59 cents in 1965.

Part of the pay gap can be easily explained. Women are more likely to leave the work force to care for children, for example, so they end up with fewer years of experience. Men also tend to work in higher-paying occupations and industries.

‘But what you find is that when you pull out all of those factors, you still have about 40 percent of the wage gap – or 9.2 cents – unexplained,’ said Ariane Hegewisch, a study director at the institute.”