Clearly, a gender wage gap exists.

Employers must close gender wage gap -- or pay dearly.

The most startling statements are as follows:

• "Employer groups argue the discrimination may be only one reason for the wage gap. Other causes, they argue, include women taking employment breaks to have children and raise families, leaving them behind in experience to men. [Laurel here ... they can't be serious!]

"But the Census Bureau study refutes the argument by showing that when women are equal to men in age, education and experience, men still make more. Men even outearn women in traditionally women-dominated occupations. Female elementary and middle school teachers, for instance, make 87 cents for each dollar earned by comparable male teachers."

[Laurel here ... why oh why are women leaving Corporate America? This is only one of about a hundred different reasons.]

For the full story, read: HeraldNet: Employers Must Close Gender Wage Gap