Business Notes WAGES

What do female college graduates have in common with male high-school dropouts? On average, they have been earning roughly the same amount of money: $20,000 for the women and $19,000 for the men. That is one of the dismaying findings of an economic study titled The American Woman 1987-88, which was released by the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues.

The 300-page report indicates that the wage gap between male and female workers is far more entrenched than generally perceived, despite women's growing participation in the labor force. Women still bring in only 68 cents to the $1 earned by men, an inequity that is closing only about a penny a year.