The Complexities of the Gender Earnings Gap: Beyond the 77 Cents

Many politicians are quick to cite a statistic that, on average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar that a man earns. This figure is usually used as part of a call to action for 'equal pay for equal work,' but the 77-cents number on its own says surprisingly little about whether women are discriminated against with regard to earnings in the workplace.

There are two important factors that this comparison doesn't take into account.

First, the number doesn't control for the fact that different occupations have widely differing levels of compensation, and men and women tend to sort into different occupations. Second, the number doesn't account for the number of hours worked in salaried positions—in other words, if salaried men work more hours than salaried women, then it would not be discriminatory to pay salaried men more than salaried women.

As a result, some influential people assert that the earnings difference is mainly attributable to occupational choices. This explanation, however, is also very incomplete, especially for younger cohorts (同年龄组的人) of workers. For example, young unmarried women earn almost as much on average as men of equivalent age. What the data shows instead is that, while today's men and women tend to start in the same place with regard to earnings, the gap widens as workers get older.

Why does this happen? Economist Claudia Goldin asserts that women get penalized in the workplace, even on a per-hour basis, for working fewer hours. For example, many occupations are such that a worker who works 80 hours per week gets paid more than twice as much as a worker who works 40 hours a week.

Given that women are disproportionately responsible for childcare and home duties, they tend to work fewer hours outside the home than men do, meaning in many cases that they not only earn less because they work less but also because there tends to be a per hour 'working less' penalty.

In addition, many occupations impose a stiff earnings penalty for any time spent out of the workforce. Again, women are more likely to take time off from work, and this plus the working less penalty explains a lot of the observed gender earnings gap (or at least the 'unfair' part that can't be explained directly by women working less). Therefore, effective public policy to fairly address the gender earnings gap would focus on how to make workplaces more flexible so that time out of a job doesn't have a big effect on productivity and workers working fewer hours per week or working nontraditional hours can be just as productive (per hour) as workers who are always 'on call.'

51. What does the author think about the statistic of gender pay gap?

A：It is misrepresented by politicians. B：It is misused by politicians. C：It doesn't prove pay discrimination against women D： It exaggerates pay discrimination against women

52. What is the attitude of Claudia Goldin towards less earning of women?

A： Sympathetic B： Serious. C： indifferent D： Objective

53. What could mainly cause the earnings difference?

A： The age difference between men and women workers B：The more responsibilities taken by men C： The different choices of occupations D： The different working hours of men and women

54. What suggestion does the author provide to deal with gender earnings gap?

A：Companies should focus on maintaining the productivity of workers. B： The public policy should emphasize on giving workplaces flexibility C： Companies should help workers work fewer hours but more efficiently. D： The public policy should tell people the gender earnings gap fairly.

55. What is the best title for this passage?

A：Causes of Gender Earnings Gap B： Comparison of Gender Earnings. C： Statistics of Gender Earnings Gap. D： Pay Discrimination Against Women.