skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Gender Wage Gap in Ohio: More than a "Paycheck Problem"

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 10, 2018   

COLUMBUS, Ohio – It takes women about 15 months to earn what men earn in 12, although pay inequality is not the only discrepancy Ohio women face in the workplace.

Today is Equal Pay Day, symbolizing how far into 2018 women would need to work order to make the same amount men did in 2017. Data from the U.S. Census show the 2018 wage gap between women and men is about 20 percent.

President of the National Organization for Women, Toni Van Pelt, explained that pay inequality impacts women through their entire careers, affecting vacation time, retirement savings and other aspects of life.

"Equally as important is that if women are kept in a state of constant economic insecurity, they are more liable to feel that they must put up with sexual harassment and sexual assault, in the workplace and in their education," Van Pelt said.

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. And if current trends continue the wage gap in Ohio will not close until the year 2067.

Van Pelt notes the pay gap is worse for women of color, with Black women's earnings just 63 percent of what their white male counterparts are paid, and Latino women just 60 percent. And the sluggish rate at which the gap is narrowing is also troubling, she added.

"When we first started talking about this, the average full time working woman was earning 59 cents on average," she observed. "So in 55 years, it's only closed by 18 cents. That's a rate of less than half a penny a year."

With increased awareness, more companies are stepping up and exposing pay disparities between male and female workers. As owner of the music venue Rambling House in Columbus, Jen Lynch said pay equality is an issue she cares very deeply about.

"Growing up, my mom defiantly worked for low-pay employment and I just watched her struggle throughout the years," Lynch recalled. "It's extremely important that our employees are they're treated fairly, that they're paid well."

Rambling House is among Ohio businesses highlighting the wage gap by offering a 20 percent discount for women on Equal Pay Day.


Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest, and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021