The factors driving the gap are as complex as working women’s lives. Family and caregiving duties can curtail opportunities for training or promotion, or simply prevent women from working enough hours to qualify for benefits like health care or retirement. Over time, those pressures impede individual and intergenerational social mobility, further stratifying economic security along gender lines: The analysis estimates the average woman’s annual earnings over 15 years at roughly $22,750, while male workers average $46,494. Read More