Earning gap widens between sexes
(CPS)—With all the affirmative action prog
rams launched in the past 10 years, women may
have been fooled into thinking employemnt dis
crimination is on its way out.
But according to the former director of the De
partment of Labor Women’s Bureau, the actual
earnings of women in full-time, year-around jobs
not only continue to be less than those of men in
the same jobs but the gap has actually widened in
the last 20 to 25 years.
In I955, women's wage and salary incomes
amounted to 64 per cent of male income. Today,
the ration is only 57 per cent.
The department director. Mary Dublin Keyserl
ing, explained that the great increase in the
number of women entering the labor force has
been concentrated in three traditionally female
fields where the pay is relatively low—teaching,
nursing and other health fields.
Although most women work not for a little extra
pocket money but to support themselves and their
families, about 30 of every 100 female workers
earn less than $5,000 annually. For men, the rate
is only 10 of every 100 workers.
At the other end of the income scale, only two
women of every 100 earn $15,000 to $20,000 com
pared to 20 men of every 100.
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Financial aid
Regulations may change
if bills pass Congress
(CPS) — Students who depend on federal bucks to survive the
college money game may find the rules changed if Congress passes
two financial aid bills presently before it.
Although one bill attempts to expand financial aid opportunities for
students, there are some provisions within both bills which could cause
students problems.
The two bills, one submitted by Rep. James G. O Hara, D-Mich.,
and the other submitted by Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R I., are now before
the appropriate subcommittees of Congress. Whereas the Pell bill
would make few changes in current student aid programs, the O Hara
bill would clamp severe restrictions on burgeoning student loan prog
rams. broaden grant opportunities and expand work-study ventures.
One of the major upcoming financial aid slugfests will center on the
current half-cost limitation for Basic Educational Opportunity Grants
(BEOG). The half-cost provision means that no student may receive a
Basic Grant larger than half of what it costs to attend college—costs
which include room and board, tuition and books.
O Hara. whose bill would eliminate the half-cost provision, argues
that the limitation strikes hardest at the neediest students attending
lower-priced schools.
For example, a school with no tuition may still require $1,800 in
educational costs such as room, board and books. A student who could
not contribute anything toward that $1,800 would, under the current
regulations, be eligible for a Basic Grant of only half the amount, or
$900. To receive the maximum allowable BEOG of $1,400, the student
would have to attend a school with costs of at least $2,800
On the other hand, a student who could pay $800 toward non
tuition educational costs, would receive a $600 grant, according to the
BEOG rules, whether he attended the $1,800 school or the $2,800
school. So, only the poorer student s grant is cut when he attends a less
expensive school under the half-cost limitation
One of the main arguments for preserving the half-cost limitation
comes from worried private school representatives They argue that if
Basic Grants were to pay most or all of the costs of attending a low-cost,
usually public school, students would be lured away from the higher
priced private schools.
Yet keeping the half-cost provision, wrote Chester Finn in the
Chronicle of Higher Education, says to the low-income student that,
since Uncle Sam will not give you enough money to attend a high-priced
school, we want to make sure you don't get enough to sway you toward
a low-priced one.
A second major controversy concerns the role ot student loans—a
mainstay in the Nixon-Ford higher education game plan.
The O'Hara bill seeks to restnct the increased reliance on loans for
financing education. The availability of soft-loan dollars—money in
sured by the government at no risk to the lender—encourages high
tuition," says Jim Harrison, staff director for the House postsecondary
education subcommittee and an O Hara bill supporter.
When schools raise tuition above what students can afford, Harn
son argues, massive loan programs enable the school to simply present
the student with federal loan contracts and say, Don t worry about the
tuition increase, just sign here."
In order to cut down on loans the O’Hara bill would end direct
federal insurance of loans, halt capital contributions to the National
Direct Student Loan program, restrict the amount of Guaranteed Stu
dent Loans (GSL) a student could receive in one year from $2,500 to
$1,500, and prohibit schools themselves from making GSL's.
Some critics, however, point out that a reduction of student loans
does not necessitate a reduction in school costs Students could find
themselves with no loans, no alternative sources of financial aid and
ever-climbing tuition, they argue.
The Pell bill, on the other hand, offers no change in the basic thrust
of the present loan program: loans would still remain relatively easy to
obtain and comprise a significant portion of student aid. The Pell bill
does, however, tighten up loan administration in an attempt to cut down
on loan defaults.
Specifically, the bill would limit student bankruptcy for five years
after graduation, eliminate schools with a default rate greater than 10
per cent as lenders and prohibit commissioned salespeople from
‘peddling" student loans.
Critics of these provisions argue that student bankruptcy is no
different and occurs at no greater frequency than anyone else s bank
ruptcy, and that it would therefore be unfair to single out students for
special treatment.
A third issue concerns the future of College Work-Study, a program
through which O’Hara wants to channel more student dollars. The
O'Hara bill mandates a minimum-wage for students, expands the
work-study funding authorization, eliminates need as a requirement for
obtaining a job and allows State Scholars Incentive Grant money to be
used for work-study jobs.
According to House subcommittee sources, while the other work
study proposals are up for grabs, the provision for minimum wages for
students is assured of passage. Students currently can be paid less
than the minimum wage under regulations adopted during the Nixon
administration.
So far, financial aid sessions in both houses of Congress have
been sparsely attended, both because of pressing legislation like that
concerned with loan relief for New York City, and, according to one
House staff member, the fact thaf many Congresspersons haven't
made up their minds about some of these key issues. And while many
educational groups and other interest groups keep up a constant lobby
ing process on the legislators, the House staffer remarked, students
don’t.
"Until members start hearing from students they'll assume when a
college president speaks, he's speaking for every student," says staff
director Harrison. "It will help if the major affected constituency makes
its feelings known.”