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6 Real Steps the President Can Take to Close the Gender Wage Gap

This just in: Female graduates earn $8,000 on average less than male graduates only a year out of college, according to the latest study. (Yes, this is a new study. Yes, it does sound depressingly familiar.)

Even when the study controlled for factors like what kind of careers men and women chose and hours worked, it found that men still out-earn women by 7%.

So what does this have to do with the election? Actually, everything. The gender gap is at a historic high this year–and we’re not even talking about wages anymore. We’re talking about the voter gap. Women are actually much more likely to vote for Obama by about nine percentage points, while men are more likely to vote for Romney by the same number.

The All-Powerful Female Voter

But grabbing the female vote has become somewhat of a priority for both candidates as we head into the final stretch. That’s because undecided female voters in swing states could have the power to tip the election one way or another.

And what do these swing voters care about? The economy. That’s the reason why she is so undecided–she doesn’t feel like Obama has done a great job boosting the economy, but she doesn’t feel like Romney actually cares about women’s concerns at all, including the wage gap.

To corral these female voters, Obama has been playing up Romney’s, erm, less-than-satisfactory answer in the second debate on equal pay for genders (if you’re tired of Tumblr posts, here’s a fabulous remix). Meanwhile, Romney is pointing to the fact that the number of women in poverty has risen since Obama took office. (Check out our post on whether we are better off than we were four years ago.)

But interestingly, the next president could almost erase our economic woes by addressing women’s concerns in a one-two punch: Economists think that closing the gender wage gap could be a much more effective stimulus than even Obama’s 2009 giant spending package, growing the economy by a potential three to four percentage points. There are several reasons why, but the main point is that women tend to spend more of their additional dollars on themselves and their families than men do. So pay them more, and watch them reinvigorate the economy.

RELATED: Why, Dollar for Dollar, Giving to Women Is Best

So, What Will Romney and Obama Do for Women?

Romney and Obama are trying to prove that they’ve got women’s backs, but in different ways:


Romney–in the second presidential debate and in recent speeches–points to the economy as being at fault for the poverty affecting women. His plan to help women achieve economic empowerment is simply by boosting the economy at large. But is this an effective strategy?

Unfortunately, it isn’t. During good economic times the wage gap actually widens, as men reap more pay in the form of bonuses, merit-based raises and overtime work. During the recession, real earnings for men fell 2.1%, while women’s earnings fell by only .9%. As the economy has recovered, men have gotten the majority of new jobs again. Romney would have to try something else to get the rising economic tide to lift all boats, instead of leaving women tied up at the dock.


Obama has the advantage of pointing to policy that he’s already implemented: the Lilly Ledbetter Act. It removed the statue of limitations for suing a company when you find out they’ve been underpaying you. It’s not bad, but it’s not a great leap forward either. After all, as one of our own readers pointed out, “All the act does is say I can sue the pants off people.” And Vice President Joe Biden himself said “it’s not a big deal in terms of equal pay.” More will have to be done.

Let’s Get Real

Let’s skip the platitudes and get down to the truth of it all: How could the next president address our concerns about workplace equality and the wage gap in a focused and targeted way? Some things might be out of their purview (no law can make women adopt a more assertive posture), but we found several scientifically and real-world-tested, government-driven solutions to the gender gap.

Mr. Romney, Mr. Obama? Here are six things you can do to actually narrow the wage gap. We’ll consider it a win if you can at least nudge the United States back into the top-20 list of the best countries for women from 22nd place. (22nd?!) 

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  • Your prescription will increase inflation, drive the economy into recession, increase unemployment and dramatically hurt women even further.

    Other than that, they’re great policies.

  • Dominique Dominique 2 years ago

    These figures are for white women to white men, the pay gap widens when you look at how race plays a role. In the US, latina women and black women earn the least amount compared to the men. It’s shocking in this day and age. Women of colour are no less competent in their jobs than white men are, so why pay so much less?

  • Bear bee Bear bee 2 years ago

    Wage Gap Myth Exposed — By Feminists in a recent HuffPo article by Hoff Sommers.

  • Dominique Dominique 2 years ago

    Why would I listen to a conservative woman talk about feminism jesus christ she could not be more wrong. The internalised misogyny is strong with this one. Also, she’s white, just proving my point more. I’d like to hear about it more from the women of colour who are actually out there getting paid less for the same work and same hours.

  • trista trista 7 months ago

    If you ‘d like to see paid maternity/paternity leave please sign this petition: http://wh.gov/lASGB