The “wage gap” between men and women – often said to be the equivalent of women earning 77 cents for each dollar a man earns – turns out to be a little more complicated, according to figures from the Labor Department. In terms of median weekly earnings for full-time workers in 2009, women aged 45 to 55 fared the worst, earning only 73.6 percent of equivalent men’s earnings.

For women aged 25-34, on the other hand, the gap was much smaller, at 88.7 percent of their male peers’ earnings, and women aged 20-24 had the best situation of any female demographic, pulling in 92.9 percent of the earnings of men in their age group.

While the pay gap will remain galling for women (and men) young and old, the Labor Department figures suggest that improvement may be on the way. Read full article…