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It’s Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to bringing awareness to the wage gap. It’s narrowed since the ‘60s, but there’s still progress to be made, especially considering naysayers still believe the gap doesn’t exist.




The gap has narrowed quite a bit since 1963, the year the Equal Pay Act was signed into law. But women, especially women of color, still earn less than men. In 2016, women were paid 22% less than men after controlling for race and ethnicity, education, experience, and location. It’s a frustrating issue made more frustrating by the fact that many people believe the whole thing isn’t real.

I tried to understand the skeptic’s point of view, though. And based on the myth-busting articles I’ve read (like this one), the major disconnect seems to be that wage gap deniers simplify the issue, then blame equal pay supporters for simplifying the issue. For example, here’s one mistaken, oversimplified take on it:

Yet for some reason, these young women were certain that a future of gender-based discrimination awaits them in the workforce. That simply because they are women, they will pay a 22% tax with each paycheck thanks to an unfair society that favors men.


I don’t know if this is a straw man argument or if this writer genuinely doesn’t understand the issue. In that same post, the author admits it’s factors like “education, years of experience and hours worked—that influence earnings.” Um, yes! We’re aware the wage gap is not that simple. In many cases, though, even when you adjust for those factors, the numbers still show a gap.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) decided to address a couple of the most common criticisms of the wage gap with even more data. They’ve visualized it in the graphic below (and our friends at Jezebel have even more insight here). Check out the EPI’s infographic below, then head to their full post for more detail.

You can’t mansplain away the gender pay gap | Economic Policy Institute