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That original report came from the American Association of Women in 1992. Sixteen years later the AAUW is back with more research supporting other findings that say even though for years girls have been graduating from high school and college at a higher rate than boys, boys have not been hurt by the steady march of achievement by girls. As Tamar Lewin writes in this New York Times article on the research, the report notes that "perhaps the most compelling evidence against the existence of a boys' crisis is that men continue to outearn women in the workplace."
David Leonhardt points out in this Times column (A Diploma's Worth? Ask Her) that women with full-time jobs and bachelor's degrees earned 75 percent as much as their male counterparts in 1992 -- and in 2007. No change. But that doesn't mean no progress. As more women have become college grads (25 percent in the 1960s to 40 percent of women today), the overall pay gap between men and women has tightened to all full-time women in the workforce earning 79 percent of all full-time men, up from 75 percent in 1992.
The gap, though narrower, persists for lots of reasons. Discrimination still plays a part, certainly. And more women sacrifice pay for flexibility to meet family responsibilities. But this most recent research shows that the gains women have made would not have come about without college degrees. It also points up that the biggest disparities in educational achievement are not between boys and girls, but between those of different races, ethnicities and family income levels.
Clearly, there is more work to be done to end discrimination and to raise women's own expectations of pay. Closing the gap among men and women can only be helped when women expect to be paid as much men and are paid as much as men -- especially out of the gate from college. You can't blame having and caring for children on that disparity, hard as some may try. If we don't start out on an even playing field, how can women possibly keep pace?
Since we now know girls/women' gains have not come at the expense of boys/mens', we also need to refocus this girl/boy debate in education on how to provide every boy and girl from every kind of background with an equal shot at a good education and the chance to succeed.
But about that persistent wage gap...do you think you're being paid less than men who hold similar jobs to yours?
