New findings show that the real earning power of men is on the decline, with most earning less today adjusting for inflation than they did when Jimmy Carter was president 34 years ago.
Women, however, are doing much better, taking home more than they did in the late 70s, although they still earn less overall than their male counterparts.
In 1979, according to
Face the Facts, a project of George Washington University, the median weekly wage for men 16 and older was $844, compared to $832 in 2011.
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The youngest male workers have been hit the hardest. Those in the 16-24 age group have seen their real weekly wages plummet from $566 in 1979 to $455 in 2011, a drop of $111 a week.
Workers 25 and older have not been immune to the pain, however. Their real weekly wages dropped from $908 in 1979 to $886 in 2011.
As a whole, men without a high school diploma suffered more than those who graduated, seeing their median real wages fall a whopping 33 percent from 1979 to 2011.
Women for their part have fared better. Females 16 and older earned a median weekly wage of $526 in 1979, but it has risen to $684 in 2011.
And for women 25 and older, the correlating figures were $564 in 1979 and $718 in 2011.
But in real terms, the study found, women still earn only about 77 percent of what men make.
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