The United States of America has been a symbol of freedom since it’s formation. It has also been looked upon as the land of opportunity. But freedom and opportunity do not exist without equality. The trouble with these images is that they are extremely far from the truth. The truth of the matter is that minorities exist and have always been treated as second-class citizens. The minorities do not get to reap all the benefits of other citizens, which is highly unfair. A main target of this inequality is women. Women are degraded by men not only for their gender but by other minorities as well (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.). For example, the freedom to marry whom ever one wants (even if he/she is a person of the same sex) does not exist nationwide; another more extremely controversial issue is the wage gap. The issue this blog highlights is the problem of the wage gap in each state in the U.S. On average women are paid less than men, even if they do the same work. This needs to change, because equal work should mean equal pay.
     Women, in traditional days, worked as a mother and wife. This began to change in the 19th century, when women began working in textile mills and other factories. Although women were working in new environments, they were not seen, as professionals and disrespect towards women did not improve. Women received discrimination in the work place, especially through payment. To try to help improve this issue in 1963 during John F. Kennedy's presidential years, the Equal Pay Act was passed. This act mandated that women and men were to receive equal pay for equal work. In the 1970s,the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced. This Amendment would give women equal pay and other rights that would make us legal. It was never passed, today. However, when comparing the median income of men and women full time workers in 1999 we can calculate that the wage gap for income inequality still existed. As you can see from the interactive map below, on average from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, women earn 63.81% of what men earn for their salary. The state guiltiest for the wage gap in 1999 is Wyoming with women earning 49.65% of what men earned.
    Noguchi, Yuki. "50 Years After The Equal Pay Act, Gender Wage Gap Endures." NPR. 10 June 2013. NPR. 10 June 2013. NPR. Sept. 2013

 

    Even though more labor laws to protect women have been passed, like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, women are still fighting the wage gap even to the more current year of 2012. We chose to include the map below to display how much a woman earned based on each dollar a man earned across the United States in 2012. On the map, the lighter green shows a lower percentage earned by women; therefore the dark green shows a higher percentage earned by women. For example, the map shows that the Washington, D.C. is dark green. It is in fact the best area in the United States of America for pay equity. But as we looked at the data, some states were clearly worse than others when it came to the inequality of pay based on gender differences. In Florida during this time, men earned $32,188 a year, whereas women earned $26,134 per year. This does not seem like a huge difference, but women only made 81% of what men made for the same jobs. Florida is a better example for equal pay, but Wyoming is one of the worst. During this year, men made $45,145 on average, and women only brought home approximately $23,668. This is 52% of male salaries for 2012. The percentage shown in Wyoming is a prime example of how women today are not being paid equally. Let us bring this closer to home. In Alabama, men made $36,422, while women only made $24,210. Alabama women made 66% of their male counterparts earnings. Though it is not the worst, we are far from equality.  
   “Women's Earnings Overtime." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013.
    United States. National Equal Pay Task Force,,. "Fifty years after the Equal Pay Act : Assessing the past, taking stock of the future." Fifty years after the Equal Pay Act : Assessing the past, taking stock of the future. Oct. 2013. June 2013

    The third map in our blog shows the rate of change in the wage gap over time between 1999 and 2012. This map is showing the rate of change between the percentages from the previous maps. While the other two maps compare women’s percentage of each cent per dollar earned by their male counterpart for a given year, this map takes each year and compares them. This shows that the wage gap continues to be relevant across the nation. Although some regions are worse than others, the fact that men continue to earn more money than women cannot be denied. Some of the reasons for inequality of pay have been linked to the fact that women on average worked less due to the fact that women are child bearers and must care for their family. But this factor should not matter, because women and men should earn the same basic wage for the same work. This argument also continues because women carry children and require maternity leave, should not give justification to inequality of pay between men and women. It is unfair, unjust, and unacceptable. Over time, the numbers start to improve. However, while women are beginning to earn wages similar to their male counterparts, they are still not equally paid. You can see that in 2012, every state’s cent per dollar for women has improved- but not drastically. With thirteen years to make improvements and the passing of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, one would think the change in the wage gap would be more drastic. We as a nation are on a mission to make the wage gap disappear. Hopefully within several years these percentages will be equal.
    There are a few solutions to help make pay equity a reality. Both women and men can stand up and protest. We can also write letters to our Senators and House of Representatives. Another way to achieve this goal is by signing petitions. We can also urge he government to pass laws that mandate wage equality. An example of a law that would help with this goal is the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Let’s help make equality a reality one state at a time!
     “The Wage Gap By State for Women Overall." National Women's Law Center. Apr. 2013. National Women's Law Center. Sept. 2013
     Rowntree, Les, Martin Lewis, Marie Price, and William Wyckoff. Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. Print. 29-30, 32

 

Blog Created By Emma Schlesinger, Maggie Thompson, Lauren Davis, and Shyanne Erickson