By JOURNALISM II
A presentation on the pay gap between women and men, and among ethnic groups – “From the Glass Ceiling to the Sticky Floor,” was presented to a group of about 50, Thursday at the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The event began with a welcome from Rockefeller Institute president Jim Malatras, who characterized the topic of the day there being “no bigger issue than the pay equity gap.”
After his welcome, Skidmore College sociology Professor Catherine White Berheide took the microphone and delivered the keynote address. Berheide gave a historical analysis of the pay gap as well as a data driven approach to what has gone on in the past and what needs to be done moving forward. She referenced how the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963 and that very little progress has been made since the 1980’s and 1990’s to close the pay gap between men and women.
Oberheide’s analogy of the “sticky floor” refers to the jobs in the U.S. that need to be done but are “dead-end, low paying.” She also said that most women who join the workforce are stuck and added that “where you begin is where you end.”
Berheide’s analysis also looked at the stagnant growth of women’s wages and opportunities which are in reference to the “societal norms and cultural stereotypes that reinforce these principles,” said Berheide.
She called for a change in how many businesses hire people and the need to create job ladders so that people can advance and make more money in the workplace.
However, women earn 82 cents on the dollar now compared to 62 cents on the dollar then. Her statistical data also showed that if progress on women’s wage were to keep advancing at the rate they did in the 80’s and 90’s, then pay equity would be achieved by 2059. But if it advances at the slower rate since 2004, it would not be achieved until 2119.
The pay gap between men and women is also a racialized issue, Berheide said. She said that Asians earn more than white women and that “white men outearn Asian men with similar degrees.” She also noted that there is a small divide between both black and hispanic men and women when it comes to pay.
The panel consisted of a diverse group of women from different fields of work. They each contributed their opinions about the laws and pay gaps for women. Beverly Cooper Neufeld created PowHer New York, and represents an organization that works and fights for economic equality.
“When a man enters a woman’s job it’s like ‘wow that’s great’ and they get paid more but when a woman enters a male job they don’t get paid as much and then that’s where sexual harassment comes in,” she said.
Women are faced with a plethora of challenges when it comes to the workforce, daily. Child care is a big one. Women not only need time off after childbirth but they also have to factor in sick days for themselves and their kids. They are also more likely to have to care for elderly family members.
“We have to change societal views on the roles that are developing our future,” said Jill Robins-Jabine, CEO of YWCA Western New York.
Many of the jobs that women do, are jobs that still need to be done yet they don’t pay as much.
“As a society what do you value?” Neufeld said.
Attendees used the hashtag #PayEquityNY to post photos from the event.
“Silence is the worse thing to do, silence to the victims, silence to those listening,” Roberta Reardon said, commissioner of the state Department of Labor.
Story researched and written by Denika Dixon, Takora McIntyre, David Meister, and Julia Williams
