STAUNTON, Va -- A new study showed women, who are one year out of college, make $8,000 less than men of the same age. A graph by the American Association of University Women showed there is about an 18-percent, or $8,000, gap between men's and women's wages.
The fact that women still make less money than men in the workforce does not surprise Alexa White, a Mary Baldwin College sophomore.
“It's discouraging since we are living in 2012, but I do believe that it can change,” said White.
How much the difference could change and when depends on economics.
Part of the gap in pay between men and women is because of what types of jobs women usually choose. Some is explained by how many hours a week some women work.
Judy Klein, an MBC economics professor, said there is more to it than economics, including gender discrimination.
“There are various things that can explain away some of the gap, but there's still an unexplained residual that we have to confront and deal with,” said Klein.
Female college graduates make about 82-cents to their male counterpart's dollar, but the issue of women's equal pay is one that has been going on for decades.
Ashton Cooley, an MBC junior, said women have already come far and she has hope for the future.
“It shouldn't be that hard to conquer one more thing, you know?” said Cooley.
She said women should be paid based on the work they do, not because they are female.
“It's better to look at someone's work ethic on an individual basis than just seeing it as a whole.”
White hopes the gap goes down and in America, she said that is possible.
“Women, we work really hard, especially in America. Single parents, and we deserve to get equal pay as men.”
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