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Student debt As noted, the gender pay gap persists across educational levels and is worse for African American and Hispanic women, even among college graduates. As a result, women who complete college degrees are less able than men to pay off their student loans promptly, leaving them paying more in interest and for a longer time. In 2012, among students who graduated in 2007-08, women working full time had paid off 33 percent of their student loan debt on average, while men working full time had paid off 44 percent of their debt. African American and Hispanic women working frill time are paid considerably less than their male counterparts, and they struggle to pay off student loans promptly; four years after graduation, African American and Hispanic women had paid off less than 10 percent of their debt— much ebtmuch less than other women and men (Figure 8). FIGURE 8 Cumulative Student Debt for 2007-08 College Graduates, by Gender and Race/Ethnicity Note: Includes 2007-08 college graduates ages 35 and younger at graduation who were working full time in 2009 or 2012 and had not pursued an additional degree. There were insufficient data to allow for reliable analysis of other racial groups. Source. AAUW analysis of data from U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008-12 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study 16 : �? :Z 7— What Causes the Pay Gap? The gap of 20 cents on the dollar between men and women working full time, year-round is a statistical fact. The pay gap itself is more complicated than a single number, since it summarizes a huge diversity of women and life circumstances. The origins of the pay gap are also more complicated than a single cause. Women and men have always participated in the work- force in different ways—and have been treated differently by employers— and though those differences have shrunk over time, they still contribute to women being paid less than men. Occupation and "choice" In part, the pay gap reflects women's and men's choices. Women and men choose different college mayors and types of jobs after graduation. But women experience pay gaps at every education level and in nearly every line of work, Among the many occupations for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data that allow for valid comparison, men's earnings are higher than women's in the vast majority (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016a). In 2015, the U.S. civilian workforce included nearly 149 million full- and part -tune employed workers; 53 percent were men, and 47 percent were women (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016b). But women and men tend to work in different kinds of jobs. Women are disproportionately repre- sented in education, office and administrative support, and health care occupations, and men are disproportionately represented in construction, maintenance and repair, and production and transportation occupations (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016a). Segregation by occupation is a major factor behind the pay gap. Even though a pay gap exists in nearly every occupational field, jobs traditionally associated with men tend to pay better than traditionally female -dominated jobs that require the same level of skill (Hegewisch & Hartmann, 2014). Occupational gender segregation has decreased over the last 40 years, largely due to women moving into formerly male -dominated jobs, espe- cially during the 1970s and 1980s, and to faster growth of more evenly mixed -gender occupations in the 1990s. But integration has stalled since 1n 17 Total average debt owed, 2009 Total average debt owed, 2012 Percentage of debt paid off, 2009-12 Men $22,656 $12,793 44% Women $24,126 $16,105 33% Asian American women $19,687 $7,679 61% White women $24,479 $15,417 37% African American women $26,535 $24,116 9% Hispanic women $21,626 $21,026 3% Note: Includes 2007-08 college graduates ages 35 and younger at graduation who were working full time in 2009 or 2012 and had not pursued an additional degree. There were insufficient data to allow for reliable analysis of other racial groups. Source. AAUW analysis of data from U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008-12 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study 16 : �? :Z 7— What Causes the Pay Gap? The gap of 20 cents on the dollar between men and women working full time, year-round is a statistical fact. The pay gap itself is more complicated than a single number, since it summarizes a huge diversity of women and life circumstances. The origins of the pay gap are also more complicated than a single cause. Women and men have always participated in the work- force in different ways—and have been treated differently by employers— and though those differences have shrunk over time, they still contribute to women being paid less than men. Occupation and "choice" In part, the pay gap reflects women's and men's choices. Women and men choose different college mayors and types of jobs after graduation. But women experience pay gaps at every education level and in nearly every line of work, Among the many occupations for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data that allow for valid comparison, men's earnings are higher than women's in the vast majority (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016a). In 2015, the U.S. civilian workforce included nearly 149 million full- and part -tune employed workers; 53 percent were men, and 47 percent were women (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016b). But women and men tend to work in different kinds of jobs. Women are disproportionately repre- sented in education, office and administrative support, and health care occupations, and men are disproportionately represented in construction, maintenance and repair, and production and transportation occupations (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016a). Segregation by occupation is a major factor behind the pay gap. Even though a pay gap exists in nearly every occupational field, jobs traditionally associated with men tend to pay better than traditionally female -dominated jobs that require the same level of skill (Hegewisch & Hartmann, 2014). Occupational gender segregation has decreased over the last 40 years, largely due to women moving into formerly male -dominated jobs, espe- cially during the 1970s and 1980s, and to faster growth of more evenly mixed -gender occupations in the 1990s. But integration has stalled since 1n 17