White House: Women still lag behind men in pay

Women at all levels of education still earn only 75 percent as much as their male counterparts, according to a new report issued by the White House. Due to these lower earnings, and in part because unmarried and divorced women are usually responsible for raising and supporting their children, women are also more likely to live in poverty than men. These sobering statistics, and others presented in "Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being," are evidence of a persisting gap between the sexes, even as we celebrate strides made toward gender quality this Women's History Month. The study was initiated to support the White House Council on Women and Girls, created by President Barack Obama in early 2009. It collected data from over a dozen federal government agencies and presents a comprehensive statistical portrait of the life of the American woman today, as well as how it has changed over time. The last report of this kind was released in 1963 under the Kennedy administration.