The gender wage gap issue has been around since the old days. Now, it has been reported that the gender wage gap has been widening among the young, fresh and newly graduated educated students.
A recent analysis by the Washington, DC-based non-profit think tank called Economic Policy Institute, has found that in this year alone, males between the ages of 21 and 24 with a college degree in their pockets are earning an average hourly wage of $20.94 compared to women who only earn $16.58 - with similar job roles, industry and degrees.
Elise Gould, a senior economist at EPI says that she found the differences between the two groups striking. IT World has it that the gender wage gap has been growing. Fifteen years ago, women earn 92 cents for every dollar a man earns. Now, the EPI reported that it's now down to 79 cents.
Why was there a decrease in earnings? IT World explained that it must be likely due to the college majors chosen and career decisions made.
The American Association of University Women previously reported in 2012 a publication titled "Graduating to a Pay Gap." The report explained that: Men are more likely than women to major in fields like engineering and computer science, which typically lead to higher-paying jobs. However, this doesn't explain the difference. The AAUW noted that, "One year after graduation, a pay gap exists between women and men who majored in the same field. Among business majors, for example, women earned just over $38,000, while men earned just over $45,000" because of career choices. For example, engineering male graduates are more likely going to work as engineers compared to women who would work in the field.
There may be many reasons as to why the gender wage gap is widening but it looks like everyone is not going to see it narrow soon.
