Fact Check: Vernon’s claim that women make 77 cents to men’s dollar is often cited

Introduction

'Women make only 77 cents on the dollar for what men make for equal work.'

Source of claim

Monica Vernon, a Cedar Rapids City Council member running for the U.S. House's 1st District

Analysis

The gender pay gap is a frequent rallying cry for Democrats, many of whom celebrated Equal Pay Day this week. The 'holiday' represents how many extra days in 2014 women must work to earn what men were paid in 2013.

Monica Vernon, one of three women running for Iowa's 1st Congressional District, used an often-cited statistic in a recent email with the subject line '.77/1.00=Not Enough.' Inside the email to supporters, Vernon said, 'Women make only 77 cents on the dollar for what men make for equal work.'

So many people – including President Barack Obama – have made this claim, it must be true, right? Depends on which government agency provides the information.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported from its monthly survey of 50,000 households the median annual earnings for full-time women in 2012 were $37,791, compared to $49,393 for full-time men. By this measure, women make 77 percent of what is paid to men, or 77 cents on the dollar.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the pay gap using the average weekly earnings for the previous year. The BLS reported women who worked full time in 2012 had a median weekly income of $691, which was 81 percent of the median earnings of male full-time workers.

So the raw gender pay gap is somewhere between 19 cents and 23 cents.

But the sticky part of Vernon's statement is the phrase 'for equal work.'

The BLS statistics compare all men and women regardless of their professions. For whatever reason, whether due to discrimination or women's choices, fewer women work high-paying jobs, such as surgeons, chief executive officers and air traffic controllers.

Women, on the other hand, hold the lion's share of low-paying jobs, including food service, cashiers and childcare workers, according to the BLS.

The American Association of University Women, which has been fighting for pay equity since 1913, released a paper in March on the gender pay gap.

The group studied earnings of college graduates one year out of school. The group found when comparing grads with a similar major, occupation, economic sector, hours worked, months unemployed since graduation, grade point average, type of undergraduate institution, age, geographic area and marital status, women's earnings one year after college were 7 percentage points below their male peers.

'Even when you control for all those factors, you still have a wage gap,' said Angela Onwuachi-Willig, a University of Iowa College of Law professor who specializes in employment law.

The American Association of University Women found a 12 percent unexplained difference in earnings for full-time workers 10 years after graduation, which may indicate the gender pay gap widens as workers get older. As retirement pay often is based on salary, women end up with smaller nest eggs, Onwuachi-Willig said

Conclusion

Vernon is definitely not alone in citing the 77 cents/dollar gender pay gap. While government agencies differ on whether the raw gap is quite this large, the stat is supported by the U.S. Census Bureau.

If she stopped there - without saying the pay disparity was 'for equal work' — Vernon's statement would be true. But BLS statistics show women disproportionately work in lower-paying fields, such as teaching, child care and food service.

When groups such as the AAUW have compared men and women in similar employment situations, the pay gap is smaller. But it's still there. We give Vernon a mostly true.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau's gender pay gap: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/income_wealth/cb13-165.html

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2012: http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2012.pdf

American Association of University Women report: http://www.aauw.org/files/2014/03/The-Simple-Truth.pdf