ALYSON CAMEROTA (CO-HOST): Christine, today is equal pay day. Tell us what that means for all of us. 

CHRISTINE ROMANS:  Well, the significance, to earn the same amount as their male counterparts make in one year, women have to work one year and part of the next year, too. That extra time ends today. Women earn about 80 cents for every dollar men make according to the Census Bureau. That works out to be a little more than $10,000 less per year. For a 20 year old entering the workforce it amounts to $418,000 over a 40-year career. Now, the gap has been slowly narrowing over the past generation. At this rate, it will be 44 more years until pay is equal between men and women in America, even longer for African-American and Hispanic women, a lot longer. The issue here is not that women choose lower paying occupations. Even in the same job categories men make more. Women working full-time in engineering earn 82 cents to every dollar a man makes; in education, 78 cents; in sales, 67 cents; and look at this, in law, one of the worst disparities, just 56 cents. Experts disagree on why women on average make less. How to fix it, equally difficult. Some way congress needs national standards on pay transparency, because so many companies keep all of this pay data private. Others say more support for working parents, men and women. Let's be honest they hit their peak at work at the moment they're also growing their families.

Previously:

Watch NBC's Andrea Mitchell Explain Why Equal Pay Day Is So Important

On Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, Media Highlight Plight Of Women Of Color In The Workplace

Myths & Facts: The Gender Pay Gap And Need For Equal Pay

How Cable TV Inadvertently Shined A Light On The Obstacles Women Of Color Face In The Workplace