The myth that women make 78 cents on a man's dollar is a standard refrain in popular media and serves as a rationale for affirmative action for women. Unstated is that for women and men with the same job and work experience, the wage gap practically disappears. In Women's Figures, Manhattan Senior Fellow Diana Furchtgott-Roth shatters the myth of the wage gap. Women are continuing to gain ground relative to men, and in some cases, they have even reversed the gender gap. Rather than helping women, preferential policies undermine America's idea of meritocracy, and call into question the value of women's hard-earned achievements.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. She is the author of How Obama's Gender Policies Undermine America and editor of Overcoming Barriers to Entrepreneurship in the United States. Together with Christine Stolba, she authored the first edition of Women's Figures: An Illustrated Guide to the Economic Progress of Women in America, and The Feminist Dilemma: When Success Is Not Enough.

Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
List of Acronyms

Introduction

1. Facts and Myths about Women at Work and in Politics
Women's Labor Force Participation Rates and Unemployment
The Myth of the "Wage Gap"
The Myth of the "Mother's Penalty"
The Myth of the "Glass Ceiling"
The Myth of the "Pink Ghetto"
Women in Elective Office
Women's Voting Patterns

2. Reaching the Top: Women's Educational Attainment
Educational Attainment
Educational Choices
Extending Title IX

3. The Marriage Penalty, Social Security Disincentives, and Other Ways Government Programs Increase Poverty among Women
The Feminization of Poverty
How Government Programs Increase Poverty

4. Way to Go, Female Entrepreneurs!
The New Class of Female Entrepreneurs
Reasons for Growth
Room for More Growth

5. The Success of Minority Women
Minority Women in the Work Force
Minority Women as Working Mothers and Business Leaders

6. Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, Which Country Is the Fairest of Them All?
Labor Force Participation and Unemployment
International Fertility Rates
Higher Education

7. Do Feminist Organizations Serve Women Today?
Agendas and Assets
The National Organization for Women
The American Association of University Women
National Women's Law Center
Catalyst

8. Conclusions

Appendix: Statistical Tables
References
Index
About the Author