ABSTRACT
Despite major increases in women's labor-force participation, the gap between men's and women's earnings remained relatively constant for three decades (1950 to 1980), with women employed full time earning only about 60 cents for every dollar earned by men employed full time. Over the last decade, the earnings gap narrowed gradually. Current estimates suggest that women earn about 72 percent of the wage rate of men. The size of the earnings gap indicates that women have significantly less purchasing power than men, and results in patterned differences in the material standard of living of women and men. The gender gap in pay contributes to a phenomenon referred to as the feminization of poverty. Estimates indicate that well over a third of the female-headed, single-parent families today have incomes below the poverty line. Earnings are not only important for their ability to command goods and services—they are also key determinants of other valued social rewards such as prestige and power. For this reason, the gender gap in earnings is a critical dimension of gender inequality.
