If you’ve ever caught the tiny voice in the back of your head thinking to yourself that the 33 cent pay gap between women and men really isn’t all that big, first of all: you are the worst, and second of all: let’s see if you’re singing a different tune when you see all the cool things you could afford when those cents add up. The Center for American Progress plugged in the numbers and found some interesting results. In 2010 the median full-time working man took home $47,715 in earnings, while the median full-time working woman made only $36,931—77.4 percent of that amount, or $10,784 less.
Because of this gap women working full time are able to afford less education, housing, transportation, food, and health care for themselves and their families than their male counterparts. As a result women and female-headed households are more likely to be in poverty and less likely to have health insurance. So, to put these numbers into perspective, here’s one of their (extremely practical) examples of what women and their families could afford annually with this extra dough:
Pension and Social Security Contributions ($2,427) + Health Care (Insurance, Medical Services, Drugs, Birth Control, Medical Supplies) ($2,027) + Education (In-state tuition and fees at a public, four year university) ($6,458) = Total of $10,912
If that wasn’t enough to get your blood boiling, we here at BUST decided to get a little creative. Here are some other good (and not so good) ideas for how to spend all our hypothetical dough.
You could….
Treat yourself to a gold-plated Drakes Platinum Vibrator for just $9,324 (6000 pounds)
Buy this “Sparkling Mystic Swarovksi Crytal Couture” Dog Dress for $6,000 on Etsy
Buy yourself a Leica M9 18MP Camera body ($6,844.59) and 50 mm lens ($1,899) = $8,743.59
Treat you and 9 friends (or yourself to 10) of the world’s most expensive sundaes from Serendipity 3. The $1,000 sundae is made up of 5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream, Madagascar vanilla, 23K edible gold leaf and one of the most expensive chocolates in the world, Amedei Porceleana.
Roundtrip flight to Paris ($1042.83) from New York City, 5 nights in a deluxe room at the Ritz Paris ($6,109.55), and 2 dozen macaroons from La Durée ($85) = total $ 7,237.38
These Valentino Ruffle-Front Suede Knee Boots ($1395), These Gucci Suede High-Heel Boots ($1190), This Chloe Marcie Turn-Lock Shoulder Bag ($2195) and This Valentino Beaded Glamorous Tote ($3,595) Total = $8,375
This Multi-Strand Gold Necklace by Gurhan ($10,500) OR This Mikimoto Three-Pearl South Sea Pendant Necklace ($3,050) and this Gold Chain and Pendant necklace by Penny Preville ($4,735) = $7,785
A pretty crappy Nokia phone covered in 18K gold! ($2700)
The same Lucite Crib Beyonce bought for Blue Ivy ($3500) + an autographed Destiny’s Child CD booklet addressed to “Matt w/ Love” on eBay ($270) = $3770
A Vespa S 150 i.e for you and a friend ($4499 x 2) + Helmets for both of you! ($75 x 2) = $9,148
You and 35 other assholes can head to The Spa at Trump SoHo and get a massage with oils infused with diamonds, emaralds, rubies, and sapphires for a mere $295 each! ($295 x 36) = $10,620
Last but not least, you could buy a year’s subscription of BUST for you and 538 of your closest friends! ($19.95 x 539) = $10,753.05
What would YOU buy with your extra money?
“Image sources www.sxc.hu, neimanmarcus.com, vespausa.com, etsy.com, instyle.com, laduree.fr, amazon.com”
