Vox analyzes the gender pay gap and explains with how the measure is calculated and some of the issues with the way the gap is calculated. In particular, the measure focuses on the median earnings of men and women across the United States, but that isn’t necessarily the fairest representation of underpayment for women in the United State.
Buzzfeed: José Vs. Joe: Who Gets A Job?
This is a great clip to discuss employment discrimination and the value of a name (Freakonomics has a nice piece on that as well). I often joke that this is the only time I can show them a clip from Buzzfeed and it has relevant material for class.
Freakonomics: White Names vs. Black Names
This classic bit from Freakonomics always starts an interesting conversation when I get to the discrimination section of my labor economics course.
Last Week Tonight: Gender Pay Gap
John Oliver explores America’s wage gap between men and women and proposes a possible solution.
Note: Solution proposed is 100% sarcastic.
Vox: The economic benefits of being beautiful
Researchers have repeatedly found that attractive people benefit from widespread biases that can translate into big bucks.
For more info on how social scientists measure beauty, check out this article on Vox: http://www.vox.com/2014/7/16/5905533/the-benefits-of-beauty