Skip to main content
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Tag: Wage gap

Racial Wage Gap

  • Wage gap between blacks and whites is worst in nearly 40 years, By Tanzina Vega, September 20, 2016, CNN Money: “The wage gap between blacks and whites is the worst it’s been in nearly four decades, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute.  Last year, the hourly pay gap between blacks and whites widened to 26.7%, with whites making an average of $25.22 an hour compared to $18.49 for blacks, the EPI found. Almost 40 years ago, in 1979, the wage gap between blacks and whites was 18.1%, with whites earning an inflation-adjusted average of $19.62 an hour and blacks earning $16.07 an hour…”
  • Black and white wage gap growing significantly, analysis say, By Lonnie Shekhtman, September 20, 2016, Christian Science Monitor: “The wage gap between black and white workers has grown by 32 percent in the last three decades, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The widening disparity is most deeply felt among college-educated workers, EPI says.  In comparing the average hourly wages of black and white workers, the Washington, D.C.-based, liberal think tank took into account where workers lived, their education levels, and professional experience. It found that in 2015, black men earned 22 percent less overall than white men, an increase from a 17 percent disparity in 1979…”

Gender Pay Gap

Obama moves to close gender wage gap, By Jim Puzzanghera and Evan Halper, January 29, 2016, Los Angeles Times: “The first bill President Obama signed after taking office in 2009 was designed to help close the pay gap between men and women.  But saying progress has been slow, Obama announced a new plan Friday to try to ensure that women earn the same as men for doing the same job.  The proposal, which doesn’t need legislative approval, would require businesses with at least 100 employees to submit annual pay data by gender, race and ethnicity in an effort to find firms that the White House said are ‘unlawfully shortchanging workers…’”

Wage Gap – Colorado

Report: Persistent wage gap contributing to poverty among women, By Alicia Wallace, October 27, 2015, Denver Post: “In 2004, the last time the Institute for Women’s Policy Research released state-by-state wage gap data, Colorado’s women earned a median salary of $32,200, or 78.7 percent of their male counterparts.  More than a decade later, women are earning 80 cents for every dollar a man makes for the same work…”