Don’t Cheer the U.S. for Gender Equity Yet

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2010 Global Gender Gap Index, released Tuesday, the United States’ gender gap has narrowed. We jumped from 31st place in 2009 to 19th place in 2010, a cheerful indication of our progress in education and literacy equality.

But the leap from 31 to 19 obscures a systematic workplace problem: gender wage inequality. The U.S. ranked 64th in wage equality for similar work, behind such countries as Kenya, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.

The World Economic Forum attributes the U.S.’s ratings jump to gender equity in literacy and primary, secondary, and high education. Indeed, much has been made of American women’s educational achievement in the past few decades – as it should be. But the Global Gender Gap Index demonstrates that, in the U.S., advanced degrees don’t translate into increased wages: the pay gap between men and women for similar work still hasn’t narrowed.

Recent research indicates that motherhood might be to blame. Professor Michelle J. Budig and Melissa Hodges analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics’ labor market surveys from 1979 to 2004 and found that motherhood significantly affects American women’s earnings. While having children impacted earning potential at every wage level, mothers in low-wage jobs suffered most, incurring a 14% wage penalty per child.

Of course, economists have yet to find that fatherhood affects men’s earnings.

Women’s educational attainment isn’t translating into higher wages. The women on the bottom rung of the economic ladder are punished for having children. And yet the recession made more families dependent female breadwinners.

The Global Gender Gap Index and Professor Budig’s research demonstrates that women desperately need – and deserve! – a revolution in workplace values, law and enforcement. This is why Legal Momentum supports the Paycheck Fairness Act. This is why Legal Momentum works to strengthen TANF and the social safety net. This is why Legal Momentum advocates for women in higher-paying, nontraditional jobs, supports job training, and combats workplace discrimination.

Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, recently noted the link between gender equity and economic strength: “Low gender gaps are directly correlated with high economic competitiveness. Women and girls must be treated equally if a country is to grow and prosper.” The last few years have been economically devastating for most American families. The 2010 Global Gender Gap Index demonstrates one reason why: to ensure economic growth, the U.S. must promote gender equity in the workplace.