Young, single, childless women out-earn male counterparts

[lumberjack_jeff]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2010-09-01-single-women_N.htm?csp=obnetwork

Women ages 22 to 30 with no husband and no kids earn a median $27,000 a year, 8% more than comparable men in the top 366 metropolitan areas, according to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau data crunched by the New York research firm Reach Advisors and released Wednesday. The women out-earn men in 39 of the 50 biggest cities and match them in another eight. The disparity is greatest in Atlanta, where young, childless single women earn 21% more than male counterparts.

The difference in pay between men and women is attributable to the tradeoffs made for child care. Married men work more after having kids, married women work less.

[AngryAmish]

1. This is the patriarchy's fault

[NoNothing]

2. This is a pretty foreseeable consequence

Of the gender disparities in higher education.

[econoclast]

4. Exactly. Fromthe article

Education is the key: "Young women are going to college in droves," Reach Advisors reports. "Nearly three-quarters of girls who graduate from high school head to college, vs. two-thirds of the boys. But they don't stop there. Women are now 1.5 times more likely than men to graduate from college or earn advanced degrees." Armed with degrees, young women command higher salaries.

[Crystal Clarity]

25. And this too backing up the education explanation re: this same study

originally printed in the Wall Street Journal, Sept 1, 2010 and noted on Wikipedia...

Most recently, the Wall Street Journal reported in an article dated September 1, 2010 entitled Young Single Women's Pay Surpasses Male Peers that the earning power of young single women has surpassed that of their male peers in metropolitan areas around the US, a shift driven by the growing ranks of women who attend colleges and move on to high-earning jobs. According to an analysis of Census Bureau data released by Reach Advisors in 2008, single childless women between ages 22 and 30 were earning more than their male counterparts in most United States cities, with incomes that were 8% greater than males on average. <5>

According to Andrew Beveridge, a Professor of Sociology at Queens College, between 2000 and 2005, women in their twenties earned more than their male counterparts in some large urban centers, including Dallas (120%), New York (117%), Chicago, Boston, and Minneapolis. A major reason for this is that women have been graduating from college in larger numbers than men, and that many of those women seem to be gravitating toward major urban areas. In 2005, 53% of women in their 20s working in New York were college graduates, compared with only 38% of men of that age. Nationwide, the wages of that group of women averaged 89% of the average full-time pay for men between 2000 and 2005.<6>

more at link...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male%E2%80%93female_income_disparity_in_the_United_States

[rocktivity]

3. Excactly what do they mean by "comparable" men?

The young, single, childless ones? And do the women and men have "comparable" jobs?

:shrug:
rocktivity

[Recursion]

6. Since many more have advanced degrees

Presumably on average young single childless women have better jobs than young single childless men.

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. Good question.

In general, men are stuck with the unpleasant and dangerous jobs.

[XemaSab]

5. I would really like to see how race, class, and migration to the cities feed into this

(And by that last I mean a man in the sticks can get a decent job in the trades. Women don't really have that door open to them.)

[lumberjack_jeff]

30. I'm at a loss as to how that could be relevant.

Unless you're suggesting that young urban women are more likely to be whites from an affluent background than young urban men.

And why can't a woman get a job in the trades? (Setting aside for the moment the value judgment; Is pumping out other people's septic tanks or installing roofs "decent"?).

There's nothing preventing women from moving wholesale into the trades except for the fact that it's hard and dangerous.

[XemaSab]

34. Here's my thought process:

>Unless you're suggesting that young urban women are more likely to be whites from an affluent background than young urban men.

I was actually thinking that African-American women have done better in some ways and in some places than African-American men.

>And why can't a woman get a job in the trades? (Setting aside for the moment the value judgment; Is pumping out other people's septic tanks or installing >roofs "decent"?).

>There's nothing preventing women from moving wholesale into the trades except for the fact that it's hard and dangerous.

Seriously, being big and burly really helps with a lot of those jobs. Last year we had a dude come put a fence in, and the deal was that we helped and he did most of the heavy work, to keep costs down. I could barely even lift the nail gun, and I was carrying three or four boards to his six or seven. Another example is that my aunt was the first female lineman in Mendocino County. All the men she worked with carried their ladders on their shoulders, but she JUST COULDN'T DO IT. She was in great shape, and stronger than most women, but her boss gave her no end of grief because she carried her ladder under her arm and not on her shoulder.

[uncommon]

7. Aw, are you sad to not be winning something?

:hug:

[lumberjack_jeff]

33. Talk about cognitive dissonance. Why did you choose that signature tagline?

[JustAnotherGen]

8. Yep

But by the time they reach their mid-30's - childless and unmarried both -

The men out earn the women. Same degree and experience.

Paycheck Fairness Act Now. I will not be cajoled into believing that women do NOT lose out on between 700k and 2 Million dollars in their lifetime. Not gonna do it. Nope!

[uncommon]

10. +1

[Recursion]

11. Did the women currently in their 30s and above

Earn more than men when they were in their 20s? (I have no idea; I'm wondering if the economy is changing in that way.)

[JustAnotherGen]

13. In 2008

I was promoted to a Manager level at my current company.

I had a man - same degree - working FOR me - making about 10K more than me.

So I would say - nope! I wasn't making more than him when we were in our 20's.

BTW - had the roles been reversed? That never would have happened. I.E. A Female subordinate making 10K more than her boss. What bullshit we deal with.

[Recursion]

14. I've had a female report making more than me

Not $10K more, though. She had a lot of skills I didn't, and added a lot of value to the company.

I was wondering about the history because I remember reading that initial salary is one of the biggest predictors of later salary for a given person. Maybe in 20 years women will be making a lot more than men, in general.

[JustAnotherGen]

15. Now see

You've shown she has more skills. My report did not. And I hold two degrees while he holds an associates.

The upside of this? HR knows I have a salary print out. Makes it real hard to get rid of the black female manager in this instance! :rofl:

[lukasahero]

17. I have taught at least 1/2 dozen men in my career

how to do a job while they were making anywhere from $10 - 30,000/yr more than me.

[Rage for Order]

19. In other words...

Fingers in your ears, saying "la la la la...I can't hear you!"

[ejpoeta]

9. married men work more, married women less..... not surprising.

even in today's equality women end up taking care of the kids and the house more. it's like having two full time jobs! and no that is not true for everyone. my sister's husband does a lot of housework and helps with the kids a lot. i was often on my own in that regard. i know some of it is my own doing because i micromanage everything. but now i am a full time mom. i thought about going back to work after the kids were in school, but that has been moved back a few years since i have a child just turning 1 this month.

[lukasahero]

16. married does not equal parent

I assure you that as a married woman without children I work just as many hours as the married men in my office.

Women with children, married or not, often "work" fewer hours in the office but I don't think that means they work less.

Edited because my <> sign got disappeared.

[ejpoeta]

27. i am sorry if i inferred that married women in general. i was referring to people with kids.

now, i don't know how stay at home moms and moms who work part time to have more time with the kids plays into this either. i am sure it must have some effect on statistics. i am a stay at home mom, therefore do i skew the numbers?

[lukasahero]

28. That's ok

I'm just touchy about that since I am subjected to the discrimination that a) married women don't need a job as much as the married man in the cube next to her and b) married women will quit when they have kids mentality all the time even though I'm 47 without kids and husband retired due to health reasons.

I suppose if you skew the numbers, then my husband skews them back for you. :)

[Rage for Order]

20. Do you have any scientific studies to back up your bogus assertion?

"Even in today's equality women end up taking care of the kids and the house more."

Let me guess, the women do this while their husbands lounge around on the couch in their wife beater t-shirts with the remote control, belching and scratching themselves?

:eyes:

[ejpoeta]

26. i can only speak from my own experience which i have stated is due to my micromanaging.

you can call it whatever you want. but that's how it is for a lot of people be it by their own doing or otherwise. now, it's not like men just sit around doing nothing. and that is not what i said. but when it comes to handling the daycare and the day to day needs of the house and the kids yes women tend to end up being responsible for that. you can call it bogus all you want. but it's a reality for a lot of women that i know.

[seabeyond]

35. i saw a number of studies when i googled.

http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6452

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Having a husband creates an extra seven hours a week of housework for women, according to a University of Michigan study of a nationally representative sample of U.S. families.

For men, the picture is very different: A wife saves men from about an hour of housework a week.

*

Overall, the amount of housework done by U.S. women has dropped considerably since 1976, while the amount of housework done by men has increased, according to Stafford. In 1976, women did an average of 26 hours of housework a week, compared with about 17 hours in 2005. Men did about six hours of housework a week in 1976, compared with about 13 hours in 2005.

*

Married women with more than three kids did an average of about 28 hours of housework a week. Married men with more than three kids, by comparison, logged only about 10 hours of housework a week.

[mimitabby]

12. this is a big change from the past

[Hannah Bell]

18. the posters don't seem to understand what's happening

[lumberjack_jeff]

21. There is an industry dedicated to obfuscating that understanding.

Women make 70% of a man! Federal workers earn twice that of private workers! More after these messages from our sponsor.

Both deliberately misuse data to paint a misleading picture of how unjust, biased and punitive the orange-centric world is for apples.

[Hannah Bell]

23. gm workers make $1000/hr! teachers make $1000/hr & can't be fired!

it's all of a piece.

divide & rule to destroy the working class.

what's amazing is the number of "dems" who sign onto the program.

that kind of stupidity is expected of brainwashed gop supporters, but dems are supposedly a little smarter.

guess not.

[Nikia]

24. Are people catching the part about 1.5 times more likely to go to college

Despite this, they only make a little bit more than men the same age in certain urban areas. Maybe young women go to college more often because it is their only hope of getting paid the same as men who don't go to college.

[lumberjack_jeff]

29. There is an alternative: choose a life-threatening career.

Commercial fishing boats always need crew.

Besides, people are paid for the value of what they do - not what they know.

[ZombieHorde]

31. Why is this controversial? I don't understand why this OP is in the On The Fence Top 10. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

32. Because it is consistent with the experience of half of DU'ers.

And because it is anathema to the other half.