COLUMBUS – If things keep going the way they are, girls graduating from high school this spring can expect to earn as much in their careers as their male co-workers right around the time they turn 50.
Tuesday, April 10, is Equal Pay Day, marking how far into 2018 American women have to work to catch up to the wages men earned in 2017.
Data from the U.S. Census shows the 2018 wage gap between women and men is about 20 percent and narrowing at about the same rate as continental drift.
“When we first started talking about this, the average full time working woman was earning 59 cents on average so in 55 years it’s only closed by 18 cents. That’s a rate of less than half a penny a year,” says Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women.
The music venue Rambling House, 310 East Hudson Street, will provide a 20 percent discount for women to help bring awareness to the pay gap.
“It’s sad that in the 21st century women still have to work harder and longer to receive equal pay,” said owner Jen Lynch.
The gap is even wider in Ohio and, if the current trend continues, women in the state will not earn the same amount as their male counterparts until the year 2067.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women in Ohio who work full-time have median annual earnings of about $38,000 which is 76 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts.