According to research conducted by Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn of Cornell University:
30 to 35 percent of men graduated from a four-year college by the time they turned 35 years old, in the 1960’s. This statistic has remained constant for close to 40 years, (Excluding the Vietnam war).
Women on the other hand, fared much worse in the 1960’s with 25 percent receiving a college degree. As of today, almost 40 percent will graduate from a four-year college.
Equal or Above Equal Graduation means Equal Pay….Right?
Inflation-adjusted average hourly wages for young college graduates in 2007 were $21.09 for men and $18.17 for women in 2007. (According to the Economic Policy Institute)
These wage statistics are a bit dissapointing to hear, yet I wonder how factors such as graduates with a degree in teaching degree affect the results? It’s no secret that a teaching degree pays less money than most other degrees. Women still occupy a high percentage of jobs in education, in fact, a recent story on MSN cited statistics released by the National Education Association (NEA), that men made up just 24.4 percent of the total number of teachers in 2006.
The main reason? Status and Pay.
So if men aren’t taking teaching positions because of status and pay, what kind of role does that play in skewing the wage gap?