The Institute for Women ’s Policy Research (2012) found that the ratio of women ’s to men’s median weekly full-time earnings rose by 1 percentage point since 2010 and reached a high of 82.2 percent. This means that women make 82.2 cents for every dollar that men earn. This is up from 63.9 percent in 1980. The negative news is that both men's and women ’s real earnings have declined since 2010.
1. Research any two topics discussed in this chapter. What factors may account for the rise in the ratio of women ’s earnings to men’s?
2. What factors may account for the decline in real earnings for both men and women?