gender

Pay disparity by gender highlighted, disputed

Joy BaconLeave a comment

As Equal Pay Day came and went on Tuesday, April 12, several stories exploring the persisting wage gap between men and women took center stage in the weekly news cycle. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, the organization in charge of the awareness day, Tuesday was chosen to represent how far into the work week women must work to earn what men earned the previous week.

According to the National Bureau for Labor and Statistics, across all occupations combined, women earned 81.2 percent of what men did in 2010. Many news outlets focused on this disparity in specific fields and occupations, where the gap greatly differs, or is in some cases reversed.

The Atlantic chose to focus on the traditionally reported story of fields in which women earn less than men, highlighting finance and insurance as the top disparity, where women in the same positions earn just 62 percent in comparison to their male colleagues. Gaps also persisted in health care, utilities, public administration, and both wholesale and resale trade industries.

Several publications focused on more localized data: The Sun-Sentinel reported that in Florida, women were found to earn $7,013 less than men annually. An even larger gap reported by the Boston Globe showed Massachussets women working under a $11,800 pay gap.  The National Partnership for Women and Families, the advocacy group providing the research for both these reports, maintains a state-by-state guide to several data points on this topic.

The long-standing critique of the wage gap is the Mommy Card: women leave the workforce to raise children before reaching higher-level management positions that bring with them the higher salaries. The Christian Science Monitor also noted that in 2009, Women held 36.5 percent of all managerial positions, up from 34 percent in 2000. In addition, only three percent of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies in 2009 were women, according to the National Center for Women & Information Technology. The Washington Post offered a counter to this argument, pointing to a study from Columbia University that showed women take a 4 percent wage hit with their first child, while men gain 9 percent in their salaries. The wage gap also persists in the same positions at the same level of management, and men still earn more even in traditionally female-dominated fields such as nursing.

The recent rise in unemployment is also used as an excuse for these disparities, since men have been hit harder by the recession in fields such as construction. Newsweek even went as far as to ask if “manhood” could survive the recession, referring to the group who used to drive BMW’s as “beached white males.” And while the overall unemployment rate is 1 percent higher for men than women over the age of 16, single women were still hit the hardest by the rise in unemployment. In March 2011 the male unemployment rate was 9.3 percent whereas single women who maintain families had an unemployment rate of 12.3 percent, compared to 8.3 percent for women as a whole.

Some opinions still hold, however, that the wage gap is mostly about manipulation of data and doesn’t offer a true comparison worth exploring. A columnist for the Wall Street Journal said Tuesday should be seen as a day  “dedicated to manufactured feminist grievances,” rather than as a true “battle of the sexes.”

Other opinions supported the data. The Houston Chronicle and Detroit Free Press both urged readers to become more active in the fight for pay equity.

At the policy level, the pending class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart for gender discrimination could be the largest case of its kind in U.S. history. The New York Times editorial page noted that ” If the court rejects this suit, it will send a chilling message that some companies are too big to be held accountable.”

Additional resources and data:

This is the Gender Report’s Week in Review, a weekly post that highlights some of the major stories related to gender issues this week. Some of these stories may have already appeared in our News Feed or in the week’s Gender Checks. We’ll at times include a longer analysis of stories as well as bring attention to stories that may have slipped through the cracks of the week’s news cycle.

Gender Check 4/13/11 – Northeast

Joy BaconLeave a comment
*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: The New York Times

On The New York Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 10:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, April 13 was titled “Egyptian Prosecuters Order 15-Day Detention of Hosni Mubarak.” Its subject was the continuing struggle in Egypt for a accountability from its past leadership.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Authors: Male (dual byline)

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – online news editor

Notes/analysis: This story was compiled mostly from press releases, AP reports, and government authorities who went unnamed.

Website: ProPublica

On ProPublica, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 10:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, April 13 was titled “Critical Shortage of Army Neurologists for U.S. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Its subject was policy changes in treatment requirements for soldiers suffering from brain injuries. It was co-published with NPR.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Authors: Male (dual byline)

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Unknown – unnamed Army doctor

2. Male – Army general

3. Female – spokeswoman for Army Surgeon General

Notes/Analysis: This story was sparked by the release of a memo, from which much of the article’s information came.

Gender Check 4/6/11 – Northeast

Joy BaconLeave a comment
*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: The New York Times

On The New York Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 6 was titled “Obama Meeting Leaders From Congress on Stalemate.” Its subject was the pending shut down of the federal government over budget conflicts.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – President of the United States

2. Male – Speaker of the House

3. Male – U.S. senator

4. Male – U.S. senator

Notes/analysis: This story is lead news across several news organizations this week. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the first female speaker of the house, and women currently hold 17 Senate seats and 76 seats in the House of Representatives.

Website: ProPublica

On ProPublica, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 6 was titled “Charter Schools Outsource Education to Management Firms, With Mixed Results.” Its subject was a lawsuit in progress against a private education firm running various charter schools.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Female

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – company board member

2. Male – attorney

3. Male – education professor

4. Male – attorney

5. Male – education consultant

6. Male – education professor

7. Male – charter school board member

8. Male – attorney

Notes/Analysis: While women make up over 60 percent of the teaching force in the United States, they hold only 30 percent of administrator positions and still fewer school board seats, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.


Gender Check 3/25/11 – South

Joy BaconLeave a comment
*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: The Miami Herald

On the Miami Herald, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 7 p.m. (EST) on Friday, March 25 was titled “State Prosecutor Drops Charges Against Sansom. ” Its subject was a case against the state’s former speaker of the house for alleged theft and conspiracy surrounding a state budget.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – state attorney

2. Male – former state speaker of the house

Notes/analysis: Most of the story was a history of the case, compiled from court documents and former coverage.

Website: Patch (Seminole Heights)

On Patch of Seminole Heights, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 7 p.m. (EST) on Friday, March 25 was titled “Bullied No More: Young Robbery Victim Speaks Out.” Its subject was a

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Author: Male

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – student bullies

2. Male – victim of robbery

3. Female – mother of victim

4. Male – police commander

5. Male – police detective

Notes/analysis:

Gender Check – 3/23/11 Northeast

Joy BaconLeave a comment
*Gender Checks are quick examinations of gender representation in individual news articles for the purpose of discovering trends over time. Click here to read more.

Website: The New York Times

On The New York Times, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 7 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 23 was titled “Tokyo Says Radiation In Water Puts Infants At Risk.” Its subject was the growing anxiety about contamination from Japan’s damaged nuclear power plants.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Authors: Male and Female (dual byline)

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – Japanese official

2. Male – Japanese prime minister

3. Male – Japanese official

4. unknown- anonymous Western source

5. Male – clerk in Tokyo store

6. Male – Japanese resident

Notes/analysis: As the disaster in Japan continues to unfold, it is interesting to keep tracking the gender balance of victims portrayed and who is given official voice in the crisis.

Website: ProPublica

On ProPublica, one of the lead articles featured on the home page as of 7 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 23 was titled “Aftershock: The Blast That Shook Psycho Platoon.” Its subject was the effects of blast concussions sustained during combat and the psychological treatment options. The story was a co-investigation with a reporter from NPR.

Here is its gender breakdown:

–Authors: Male (dual byline)

–Human sources  (listed in order mentioned):

1. Male – Iraqi veteran

2. Female – police officer

3. Male – staff army sergeant

4. Male – staff army sergeant

5. Male – soldier

6. Male – soldier

7. Male – army neuropsychologist

8. Female – doctor

9. Female – professor

10. Female – army doctor

11. Male – army officer

12. Male – father of a soldier

13. Male – friend of a soldier

14. Female – sister of soldier

15. Male – retired colonel

16. Male – director of veteran’s trauma center

17. Male – PTSD expert

18. Female – wife of soldier

19. Female – daughter of soldier

20. Female – wife of soldier

Notes/analysis: In a story focusing on the traumatic effects of war, all the soldiers featured were male, and with the exception of one father, all the family members interviewed were female.