Weekly Digital Print Edition
DAILY FORTY-NINER EST p 1949
Vol. LXXXII, Issue 43
www.daily49er.com
Monday, March 21, 2022
What the gender pay gap looks like in leading industries By Isabel Silagy Community Engagement Editor
People are not able to fill their gas tanks fully due to the rise in gas prices.
ULYSSES VILLA | Daily Forty-Niner
Commuting CSULB students upset over gas price inflation Please see GAS PRICES page 2
Opinion
Thank you to all the women in my life I don’t think I’d be where I am today without these people.
By Jonathan Bigall Opinions Assistant
A
s male-dominated as our society is, it owes an immense debt to the great women whose deeds have been memorialized such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harriett Tubman, and Frida Kahlo. As well as current trailblazers like Malala Yousefzai and Kamala Harris. The world we have today would be nothing without them. While reflecting on Women’s History Month, a thought came to me: Why stop at celebrating just the women who have gone down in history for their accomplishments? All women should be recognized this month for their contributions to the world.
In 2022, women are still confronted by the reality of unequal pay for equal work as men. There has been a push for progress in the gender pay gap in the U.S. in the last several years. In California alone, the Fair Pay Act was passed in 2015 and the Equal Pay Pledge was signed in 2022. Yet, the problem of unequal wages persists. In the last quarter of 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau found that women consistently earn nearly 30% less than their male counterparts, and that “the pay gap increases with age.” Pay disparities where more women were losing their jobs compared to men in some industries increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Pew Research Center. Substantial federal legislation to narrow the gap has not been passed in over a decade. The Paycheck Fairness Act, which would ensure stronger protections against wage discrimination on the basis of gender, was blocked by the U.S. Senate in June 2021. The gender wage gap has continued for the last 15 years and is more pronounced in some key professions. Finance Financial industries such as banking, investment management, and insurance are heavily dominated by men. While more women are entering the finance field, only 22% of leadership roles at U.S. financial firms are held by women, according to the New York Times. And, the pay disparity between men and women in the industry is starker. Women in the finance and insurance industries make an average of $944 per week. Meanwhile, men in the same industries make an average of $1,538 per week, according to Statista. Nursing Statista also stated that nine out of 10 registered nurses in the U.S. are women. Yet, the gender pay gap in nursing is increasing in favor of men. Please see GENDER GAP page 3
I may not be able to give appreciation to all the women on earth, but I can start with those who have graced me with their presence and thank them for everything they’ve done. To my mom Thank you mom for your hand in raising me. Even when times were hard you made it feel like they weren’t. You bought me toys and video games when you could barely afford them. We’ve laughed and cried together more times than I can remember. It feels almost like yesterday we were driving to and from places, singing along to music in your convertible Volkswagen Beetle with the broken roof. If I were to write about everything I am grateful to you for, that could be its own piece. Please see THANK YOU page 4