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WHAT IS THE PAY GAP? <br />The pay gap is the difference in men's and women's median earnings, usually reported as <br />either the earnings ratio between men and women or as an actual pay gap, as defined <br />below. The median value is the middle value, with equal numbers of full-time workers <br />earning more and earning less. In 2017, median annual earnings in the United States for <br />women and men working full time and year-round were $41,977 and $52,146, respectively <br />(Fontenot et al., 2018). <br />Women's Median earnings [Men's median earnings—Women's median earnings] <br />Earnings Ratio = Pay Gap = <br />Men's median earnings Men's median earnings <br />$41,977 <br />2017 Earnings Ratio = — 80.499 80% 2017 Pay Gap = <br />$52,146 <br />[$52,146—$41,977] <br />$52,146 <br />- 19.501 20% <br />The ratio and gap above are calculated comparing <br />women of all races and ethnicities to men of all races <br />and ethnicities. The gap in the earnings for women of <br />different racial and ethnic groups is usually calculated <br />with white, non -Hispanic men as the comparison <br />group. These comparisons are discussed in the <br />following sections. <br />Earnings can also be reported on a weekly basis. The <br />gender pay gap in weekly earnings tends to be slightly <br />smaller than the pay gap in terms of annual earnings. <br />In 2017, the pay gap in median weekly earnings was 18 <br />percent (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018a). <br />WHERE DO THE DATA COME FROM? <br />Federal agencies, such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the <br />U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Bureau <br />of Labor Statistics, conduct surveys of individuals, <br />households, and businesses to gather information <br />about people's salaries and other earnings. <br />Most reports on national workforce participation, pay, <br />and pay differences depend on data from the Current <br />Population Survey (CPS) (www.census.gov/cps), the <br />country's primary source of labor force statistics. The <br />CPS is a monthly survey with a sample of 100,000 <br />households, sponsored jointly by the Census Bureau <br />AAUW • www.aauw.org <br />and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Census <br />Bureau, 2016). <br />The estimate of the pay gap using weekly earnings <br />is based on the annual average of median weekly <br />earnings for the previous year, usually released every <br />January by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bts. <br />gov/cps). The estimate of the pay gap using annual <br />earnings is based on the CPS Annual Social and <br />Economic Supplement, which is published each <br />September by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of <br />Labor Statistics. Compared with other government <br />surveys, the CPS provides more detailed information <br />on income. In recent years, this information has been <br />published in the report Income and Poverty in the <br />United States (Fontenot et al., 2018). <br />STATE -LEVEL DATA <br />A pay gap can also be calculated for each state (figure <br />2). The American Community Survey (ACS) (www. <br />census.gov/acs) is a detailed annual survey distributed <br />to a broad sample of U.S. households; it supplements <br />the U.S. census of all Americans, which only occurs <br />once per decade. The ACS is often used (including <br />in this report) to estimate more detailed analyses of <br />subpopulations and geographical areas, such as the <br />THE SIMPLE TRUTH ABOUT THE GENDER PAY GAP 1 Fall 2018 Edition O <br />4-7 <br />