Michigan State Looks At Gender Gap

A new Michigan State University study shows women have eliminated the gender gap with men when it comes to education and occupational status, but not when it comes to earnings.

Study author and MSU sociologist, Stephanie Nawyn, says after analyzing U.S, Census socioeconomic data of more than 180,000 people in 1980 and 2005, women are more likely than men to have a bachelor’s degree and a white-collar job.

But, Nawyn adds, in 2005, women on average earned $39,472, while men earned $50,900 — an $11,428 difference between the sexes.

The gender earnings gap was largest between white men and women and smallest between Latino men and women. In addition, whites on average earn $6,500 more per year than Latinos.

The study, co-authored by researchers at the University of Maryland, appears in the October issue of the journal Demography.