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The wage gap between men and women is finally starting to close—but only because male wages are falling, according to a new briefing paper released Tuesday by the Economic Policy Institute. “No one in this country should work full-time and live in poverty,” said Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren at a Capitol Hill press conference to release the report, which sets forth a policy agenda for both closing the gender wage gap and boosting bargaining power for low- and moderate-income workers. Also on hand were House Democrat Rosa DeLauro, of Connecticut, and labor organizers with the AFL-CIO and the SEIU.
Dubbed “Closing the Pay Gap and Beyond,” the EPI white paper and manifesto found that despite a shrinking gender wage gap, wage gains have remained stagnant over the last decade. In 1979, median hourly earnings for women were 62.7 percent of men’s hourly wages. That gap narrowed in the two decades that followed, but since 2000 it has hovered in the 80 percent rage. In 2014, women’s median hourly earnings were 82.9 percent of men’s.
The American Prospect November 19, 2015 -
Basic laws of economics suggest that employees in the childcare industry should be faring well: The outlook for demand, especially as millennials born between 1981 and 1997 reach prime child-rearing age, is solid. Yet about 15 percent of those workers are living in poverty, compared with 7 percent for all other occupations, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.
Bloomberg November 19, 2015 -
But this is hardly the first study to recognize that it is impossible for a family of four to live on $60,000 a year. In 2012, when the federal poverty line was $23,283, the Economic Policy Institute discovered that basic needs cost at least twice that amount in 615 of America’s cities. Just two months ago, a census study showed New Jersey was one of only three states that experienced an increase in both number and percentage of people living in poverty.
Newark Star Ledger November 19, 2015 -
The analysis, from the left-of-center Economic Policy Institute, is the first effort to quantify the impact that 25 years of wage stagnation and growing inequality have had on American women’s wages as they caught up with men’s. The researchers found that for women, wage stagnation and the gender pay gap pack a stinging one-two punch. If women earned as much as men, and all workers’ wages kept up with the growing economy, the median hourly wage for all women would be 70% higher than it is today. “What we’re saying is that the gender wage gap isn’t the only way that the economy shortchanges women,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and one of the study’s authors. “Getting to gender parity is important, but it doesn’t improve women’s economic prospects to the greatest possible extent.”
The Guardian November 18, 2015 -
Although women have seen the gender wage gap narrow, much of the gain is attributable to wage stagnation, according to a new report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. The report finds that since 1979 about 40 percent of the reduction in the male-female gap occurred because men’s wages stagnated rather than because women’s wages grew. According to the report, in 2014 the hourly median wage for women ($15.21) was 82.9 percent that of that for men ($18.35). The report also found that women earn less than men at every education level, and that the gender wage gap is largest among top earners. EPI will release its Women’s Economic Agenda this morning at an event that will include Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Liz Shuler, and SEIU Executive Vice President Rocio Saenz. http://bit.ly/1j6AQ00
Politico November 18, 2015 -
Minimum wage earners include health care workers, waiters and waitresses, and office staff. As the infographic below from the Economic Policy Institute shows, the typical worker who would benefit from a proposal to raise the federal minimum to $12 by 2020 is a woman whose family relies on her for more than half of its income. Nearly two-fifths of all women of color would benefit from such an increase.
MSNBC November 18, 2015 -
Instead, other analysts say that families earning less than $48,000, which is about twice the federal poverty line for a family of four, typically have no discretionary income. The Economic Policy Institute, for example, estimates the minimal family budget for a family of four “to secure an adequate but modest living standard” is at a least $49,000, but in high-cost cities such as Washington, D.C. can exceed $100,000.)
Time November 18, 2015 -
The implicit argument behind FWD.us is that the U.S. doesn’t have enough high-skilled domestic workers to meet tech companies’ needs. This is a myth, and Zuckerberg and FWD.us are just the latest tech players to promote it. In fact there is no shortage of domestic IT workers, as shown in a new study from the Economic Policy Institute. While there is an unusually low unemployment rate among American tech workers (3%), they haven’t enjoyed the large salary increases that would signal a shortage.
Gawker November 18, 2015 -
The cost of child care for a 4-year old currently consumes more than half of a minimum-wage earning parent’s budget in 20 states; and 30 percent or more in every other state. And infant care costs more than half of a minimum-wage-earning parent’s income in 37 states. More than one in four working mothers and 40 percent of all single mothers would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC November 18, 2015 -
At large public companies, boards of directors are usually in charge of how and what to pay their CEOs. It’s an expensive decision. Among the 350 top firms (by sales) in the United States, the average CEO compensation package added up to $15.2 million in 2013, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That compensation includes a vast array of factors, such as salary, bonuses, stock options, and long-term incentive payouts.
Forbes November 18, 2015