Women grads can expect less pay than male grads

In light of Equal Pay Day last week, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) released a new fact sheet on the occupational gender wage gap in America.

According to IWPR the lowest paid ten occupations employ close to two-thirds of women, while two-thirds of men occupy the highest paid ten occupations.

CU senior Jenna Villatoro finds the news discouraging. “It’s hard to believe that it’s 2011 and men are still favored in the job market”.

The report includes case studies in four industries: uniformed services (including police and fire departments), agribusiness and food processing (including migrant or undocumented workers), aerospace manufacturing and financial services.

Also according to IWPR in 107 occupations out of 111, despite having a college education, men take home a higher paycheck than woman.

CU Women’s Studies Professor, Steph Wilencheck, explains how this gab affects a variety of women, “If you also look at other identities such as women of color, trans women, trans women of color, your less likely to even be employed”.

The Director of the Career Service Center Lisa Severy offers some advice to overcome this gap.

“The expectation is that you’re going to need to negotiate your salary,” Severy said.

Although these facts can be unsettling for future female graduates, Wilencheck remains hopeful.

“My hope is that things start to change and that women graduates and students can get support within the community in order to make that change,” Wilencheck said.