The gender pay gap remains an issue in the United States, with women’s median earnings equaling only about 83 percent of men’s median earnings in 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Exact percentages vary depending on occupation, but data consistently shows men make more money than women.

“Earnings are a key component of financial well-being, and if you have less earnings, your opportunity for financial resources are diminished,” said Steve Wheeler of Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors in Bowling Green.

According to a 2016 study by the Economic Policy Institute, gender wage inequality among college graduates has grown since 2000. Young men who are college graduates earned 8.1 percent more in 2016 than in 2000, while young women graduates earned 6.8 percent less than in 2000.

Kristi Branham, director of the Gender and Women’s Studies program at Western Kentucky University, said the gender pay gap can be traced to the beginning of the wage labor system, when jobs were identified as masculine or feminine, with masculine jobs deemed more important. She said the concept of the nuclear family system – in terms of the man working outside the home while women worked inside the home or only worked outside for extra money – meant “feminine” jobs were paid less.

“We’re devaluing the feminine and valuing the masculine,” Branham said. “Women have men that are supporting them so they don’t need as much money, but we know this isn’t true with all the single families. This matters because what you contribute to your Social Security and retirement is a percentage of your income.”

Wheeler said most retirement benefits are based on compensation. So, less earnings not only have an immediate economic impact, there is a long-term effect.

“I’m an old guy, I’ve been around a long time in a profession that’s white male dominant,” Wheeler said. “I have seen some very positive changes in the accounting profession for equality of gender and that equality both in the ability to move into management positions as well as compensation. I’m sure if we got into very specific occupations or jobs it’s going to vary.”

Women construction workers received the closest wages to men by earning 91.3 percent of what their male counterparts earned in 2014, according to the BLS report. Women in legal occupations make 56.7 percent of what their male co-workers make, according to the BLS. Researchers claim several factors contribute to the pay gap, with one suggesting that women are more reserved than men when it comes to negotiating salary offers and asking for raises.

An article in the Harvard Business Review titled “Why Women Don’t Negotiate Their Job Offers” suggests women tend to negotiate less than men because of how women are treated when they negotiate, rather than their confidence level or skills at negotiation. Male evaluators penalized female candidates more than male candidates for initiating negotiations and female evaluators penalized all candidates for initiating negotiations.

Robert Unseld Jr., director of the Center for Career and Professional Development at WKU, said sexism plays a role in the pay gap. Lower salaries are given to women because they are more likely to take leaves from work, such as maternity leave or leaves to care for family members, because society calls on women to do more than men.

“We don’t fully communicate with them the value of their education at WKU and I don’t think we do a good job as a society for women to go out and demand a pay equal to their skill,” Unseld said. “First thing I advise female students is that they should negotiate their starting salary and they should negotiate lifestyle affecting parts of the job.”

Unseld also mentioned ways to help close the pay gap between men and women. One was finding mentors in the field who would offer advice on what projects to be a part of and how to choose work activities that would lead to promotions.

“Society has shown us there are successful women in America and if we can use their examples as a model we can do our part in shrinking that pay gap,” Unseld said. “Pay is something that should come up regularly. I think it’s appropriate that the value balances with the value you’re creating and the value you’re receiving.”

Wheeler said there is no doubt that historically women have not been equally paid for equal work, but that he’s seen progress that he hopes continues.

Branham agrees and said we should start thinking about work in broader terms, such as the satisfaction it gives a person based on the value he or she brings to that profession. She said there’s intrinsic value in work, which is the satisfaction we get from doing a job well.

“Some of our ideals we base our wage system off of doesn’t exist anymore, like the nuclear family and one family income household,” she said. “I think we need to loosen our grip on the restrictive gender codes. We shouldn’t be thinking about work in terms of gender, especially in this kind of economy.”

— Follow faith/general assignments reporter Simone C. Payne on Twitter @_SimonePayne or visit bgdailynews.com.