Friday was Fair Pay Day, marking the day when women have finally earned enough money to equal how much money a man earned all of 2007. Yes, according to those who study the wage gap, the 23 cents women, on average, aren’t making compared to an average man, it takes us until April 18th to make up.

Of course the wage gap isn’t as cut and dry as just a mere 24 cents. Considering that most of the world is set up by a white male standard (don’t even pretend it isn’t, folks), let’s look at the wage gap for different women:

• African-American woman - 63 cents
• Latina woman - 52 cents
• Women physicians - 72 cents
• Women in sales - 64 cents
• Women in construction - 86 cents
• Women in computer and mathematical occupations - 85 cents
• Women 25 years of age+ with some high school education median annual earnings were $15,162, compared to $24,092 for men
• Graduation from high school boosted women’s median earnings to $21,609, yet the same high school degree yielded $33,074 for men
• Women with a two-year associate’s degree gives men a much bigger bang for their buck ($42,462 in median annual earnings) than it does for women ($29,091)
• Women earning a bachelor’s degree yielded a median annual of income of $38,221 - $55,425 for men

Data from the NWLC Pay Equity Fact Sheet [PDF link]

A bit somber eh? And while many will poo-poo these data points with the old “women opt for low-paying jobs” or “if women didn’t take time for children…” bullshit excuses, I don’t buy them and neither should you. In AAUW’s 2007 report Behind the Pay Gap, they were able to calculate the wage gap as early as the first year on the job between men and women who earned the same college degree and major. The wage gap only grows from there. Of course the choices we make do make a difference, but there is still a good amount of the gap that is not explained by our reproduction or what school we attended.

But as we are curious about our own pay checks, I believe we should be equally curious about the people, 97% of whom are women, who are caring for our children while we schlep to the office.

In 2006, child care workers earned an average of just $9.05 an hour, or $18,820 annually. In comparison, baggage porters earned an average of $21,580 annually and pet sitters earned an average of $20,230 annually. Child care workers are also often denied other important and necessary benefits, such as health care and sick leave. Because of the low wages and limited benefits associated with child care work, many women in the industry are forced to take on second jobs.

I know that on our end here in Chicago, we are paying a second mortgage each month for our daughter’s day care. I can’t imagine paying more than that, but at the same time I wonder how the wonderful women who do care and love my daughter are making ends meet. While I muse about how little my daughter’s caregivers are making, I also fume over how much more jobs of lessen value pay. Pet sitters earning more than a child care worker? WTF? I guess because a dog sitter can watch 10 dogs at a time and a child care worker can only watch 4 infants at a time or about 10 pre-schoolers at a time. But still, people…

Is the answer more government intervention? Or heck, some government intervention? Perhaps. Could it be looking at the profit margin of large child care companies? I do lean pretty far on the socialist side of things, so my gut says yes. We need to have the government help subsidize child care. If I can afford $500 a week, but my caregiver really needs us to pay $750 to earn a living wage, then the government should ante up. Or peek at the balance sheet of the company to see if the CEO is making a zillion dollars while the workers are making barely $20,000 a year. Yes, I do believe that the gap between the very top and the very bottom should be as small as possible.

And this is why I believe that many have started to call Friday Fair Pay day and not just equal pay day. By calling it Fair Pay day, we can look at women-dominated jobs and ask, “Is that really fair?” If we just looked at equal pay, we’d look at caregivers and say, “Hey, they all make the same lousy wage. It’s equal!”

Readers — Have you ever wondered if you were getting a fair wage? If the schlemiel next to you was earning $5,000 more year or not? Want to do something about it?

“Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel.” - Bella Abzug