Equal Pay Day: closing the gender wage gap

On Equal Pay Day, we discuss the gender wage gap and why women earn only 82 cents to every $1 that men make.

Air Date: April 2, 2019 10:00 am

Lilly Ledbetter, center, an activist for workplace equality, speaks at an event to advocate for the Paycheck Fairness Act on the 10th anniversary of President Barack Obama signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Guests: Jocelyn Frye, Hannah Riley Bowles

Today is Equal Pay Day so we’re going to spend the hour looking at the gender pay gap. Studies show that women working full-time make around 82 cents for every $1 that their male colleagues make. For women of color that divide is even larger. This hour, we’ll discuss why men continue to be paid more than women in the workplace, what role career choices and sex discrimination play in the disparity, and what can be done to shrink the gap. We’ll also talk about legislation that recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives that would ensure equal wages for men and women. Our guests are JOCELYN FRYE, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and HANNAH RILEY BOWLES, senior lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School.

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