Times Have Changed … but There Is More To Do!

Women are more educated now than 40 years ago and many are holding positions of influence in the workplace. As you can see in the diagram below, the percentages of women in 1970 that had less than a high school diploma and those in 2010 that completed a college degree  are practically flip flopped.  More women than men now earn college degrees.

Unfortunately, these changes have had little effect on gender pay disparity. Women still make about 73-77 cents for ever dollar a man makes (depending on geographic location). Over a life time, this gender pay disparity creates a wage gap that, measured over a 40-year period, adds up to major losses for women.  In Ohio, it means a wage gap of $449,000 between men and women with high school diplomas, a $502,000 gap for those with some college, and a $657,000 gap between men and women with Bachelor’s degrees.

What happens because of this wage gap is that women face different challenges in their lives than men – serious challenges that affect their quality of life. They are often not able to retire.  According to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, women in Ohio are “more likely to live in poverty, be enrolled in Medicaid, and not to be working.” The study also revealed that women are more likely to get cancer.

 

In 2010, we had 31 women between the ages of 55 and 83 who participated in our New Directions program.  Three of the women were in their 80s!  Those numbers are astounding.  Women are being forced to work, or return to work, at much older ages. This is a trend that will continue if more efforts are not made to improve the disparity.

 

New Directions Career Center is a resource for women in careers and the workplace.  We take a holistic approach to developing women as healthy persons and thus more valuable employees. We inform people about women in today’s workplace; specifically the barriers, disparities, trends, needs and how things are changing.  We are proud to be part of the solution to decrease the wage gap, level out gender pay disparity. We empower women to achieve and maintain economic self-sufficiency. What better way to promote change in the work place and the world?

Financial Literacy for Women

I’ve witnessed for myself the power of financial literacy. Women who learn to manage their finances tap into something deep within themselves and discover a limitless reservoir of strength, confidence, and courage. This inner power helps us develop financial confidence and achieve our financial potential; it is instrumental in helping us to become financially independent. Financial literacy ultimately enables us to control our own destiny.

There are tangible skills that New Directions Career Center teaches our clients, like tracking expenditures, budgeting for the future, living within means, prioritizing debt repayment to minimize interest, and maximizing the benefit of each dollar for them and their families. Many of our clients are rebuilding their lives from scratch; some even have to make a choice between feeding their children and heating their homes. Each situation is unique, and we help each client to begin where she is in the current moment. The emphasis is on how to live right now and to set achievable short and long term goals with steps to work consistently and continuously toward reaching those aspirations.

More fundamentally though, at NDCC we help our clients to change their relationship with money. Most of those who seek us out are having financial difficulty, and that is a frightening and all-encompassing situation for anyone. It is hard to really see where we are financially when we are afraid to look -- for fear that it is even worse than we thought. Maybe it is worse, usually it isn’t, but facing the situation head-on is exactly what is needed to start controlling it, instead of letting it control us. Through improved financial literacy, New Directions Career Center helps women to do just that.

Of course, earning more money makes life easier. As a result, NDCC encourages and supports our clients to develop a career plan and work towards attaining employment that satisfies professional interests and provides a livable wage. However, it is when participants in our classes begin to understand how their money works for them that life changes are set in motion. When money is seen as the tool that it is, we can put it in its proper place in our lives, stop letting it define who we are, and then use it to achieve economic independence.

Thakor, Manisha, "Shocking Statistics on Women & Retirement," Forbes, February 18, 2011

Gender pay disparity persists, even with new laws

“Women earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.”

You might think the above statement was written 20 or 30 years ago, but it was spoken by Barack Obama in June 2008 during an address made to working women while on the campaign trail in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In Ohio, the disparity is even worse: women earn, on average, 73 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Women work as hard as men; women carry the same titles as men. However, in many cases, a woman will earn less than a man in the same job – even in 2010. Gender pay disparity continues to exist for two main reasons. First, women working the same job as their male counterparts are consistently paid less for their work by the companies who employ them. Second, and more insidious, the types of jobs traditionally held by women are lower paying than the types of jobs traditionally held by men.

In January 2009, the President signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. While the bill extends the statute of limitations for women seeking recourse, it does not address the underlying social and political context that keeps women making nearly 25% less in the work force while doing the same work.

There are a number of arguments about why the gap continues to exist; many blame it on women taking extra time off to have and rear children. However, in a study by Catalyst (a “nonprofit membership organization working globally with businesses and the professions to build inclusive workplaces and expand opportunities for women and business”) women were no more likely to leave or change jobs because of family than men. In fact, even when a woman had no children, her pay still lagged significantly.

Many say that the pay disparity exists because women don’t have the education and training of their male counterparts. However, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Digest of Education Statistics, in 2005 - 2006, women earned nearly two-thirds of all associates, bachelors, and master’s degrees and almost half of all doctorates. The digest further predicts that by 2016 - 2017, women will be earning nearly two-thirds of doctorate degrees as well.

There are no more excuses. Women are as capable as men, as educated as men, and as well-trained as men. New Directions Career Center has been fighting gender pay disparity by offering comprehensive training, counseling, and support for women to empower them to become self-sufficient and successful wage earners and was recently names as one of three partners to deliver a program called E3 (Educate, Empower, Elevate). This program supports post secondary education for women to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency. Women must focus their post secondary education on a "hot job" that is projected to be around for a while and to pay a livable wage. The program is being funded by the Women's Leadership Council (WLC) through United Way of Central Ohio. For more information on the E3 program, call NDCC at 614-849-0028, and ask to speak to either Cindy Kazalia or Amanda Fox.