The gender wage gap still exists in America. The data supports this, yet people still refuse to believe it. Read all the comments on an article about the wage gap – you are sure to find many, if not most, that declare the wage gap a myth. This comment was found on a Youtube video about the gender pay gap: “there is a biological reason why women cannot, and I mean CANNOT, get the same pay as men.” Another commenter said, “If women were paid less than men for the same job, as many people say, no one would hire men if women could do the same job for less,” to which one commenter responded, “The reason why you don't fire male employees is because they value them more." Many people who argue that the wage gap doesn't exist ignore the facts and make up ideas that, in their minds, make sense. These ideas are not supported by facts or even common sense, and women suffer for it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay “If we put a woman on the dollar bill, she will only be worth 77 cents.” Stephen Colbert responded to Obama's statement that putting women on currency would be "a good idea" with this statement. While it's unrealistic to imagine this would be the case if a woman was on a dollar bill, he makes a point about the gender wage gap. According to data interpreted by the U.S. Census Bureau, women earn 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. The numbers are even lower for women of color and trans women. The highest-paid female CEO is Martine Rothblatt, who earns $38 million a year. The highest-paid male CEO, John Hammergren, earns $131.2 million per year. Martine Rothblatt can also attribute some of her success to the fact that she lived the first half of her life presenting as a man, but now that she presents as a woman, she makes more than $100 million less than the highest-paid CEO. It doesn't even touch Forbes' list of the 10 highest-paid CEOs, all older white men. No. 10, John C. Martin, makes $43.2 million a year. Compare all the data between women and men working in the same job and you will find that women earn less and less. There are many factors that cause the gender wage gap. “60% of the wage gap can be attributed to known factors such as work experience at 10%, union status at 4% and… choice of occupation at 27%, among other measurable differences. A woman's work experience is shortened if she needs to take maternity leave or take time off from work to care for a child, which she is more likely to do than her male counterparts. Another quarter of the wage gap is attributable to wage differences paid by industries that employ primarily men or women.” On the other hand, factors such as greater access to higher education for women are helping to reduce the wage gap. This has narrowed the gap by about 7%, but is still not enough. “Women need an additional educational qualification to be able to earn as much over a lifetime as men with a lower educational qualification. A woman would need a doctorate, for example, to earn as much as a man with a bachelor's degree, and a man with a high school diploma would earn about the same amount as a woman with a bachelor's degree. Even with all these numbers, all the reasons why the gap.