As an entrepreneur and woman business owner, there are a whole range of issues affecting my business model that require thorough and thoughtful analysis of the market, understanding of demographic needs and tireless attention to differentiation in a saturated market. What I don't think of necessarily as an issue impacting my day-to-day operations or even long-range planning is my gender.
Over the course of my career in corporate and entrepreneurial environments, it looked and felt as if my sisters and I had made strides. I wasn't alone by any means at a professional or managerial level when I worked for two banks. But this is anecdotal, of course, and statistics support gains that women have made in the labor market over the last 40 years or so that offer a degree of satisfaction. Statistics also point to the disparities and gaps, especially as to how little the needle has moved in the last few years alone.
So how do women in the U.S. fare when it comes to earnings? Is our compensation fair?
According to the Census Bureau report on consumer income out last week, we still lag behind our male counterparts. On page 15 of the report, you'll find these statistics:
- "In 2009 the female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.77 ... not statistically different from the 2008 ratio" and
- "The median earnings of men increased by 2.0%" compared to a "1.9% increase for women."
That means in comparable terms that we women earn 77 cents to a dollar earned by men. The ratio is based on full-time women employees. But how do women owners compare to men in the small business market? I continue to resarch this point and will post on it in the near future. Certainly we've been identified in the media as having done well in the Great Recession as compared to men in terms of securing work. Several books in the works will acknowledge our ability to collaborate and create businesses, spur innovation and achieve results out of our expertise and knowledge. Run to the attic, ladies, and find your old report cards to remind yourselves of how brilliantly we performed in high school and college.
Current pending legislation aside, when will there be a cultural norm and expectation that the gap in pay must close permanently? Isn't this one of the most fundamental issues today in equality?
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