Final answer:
Considering the complexities of the gender wage gap caused by factors such as 'motherhood penalty', race, and ethnicity, it's more precise to say median and mean earnings of wives are 'at most 30 percent less than that for their husbands' among working couples.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering the statement that women earn 30 percent less than their husbands among working couples, we must look into the associated factors that contribute to these statistics. Based on the information provided, it is apparent that this wage gap can be attributed to several factors.
Women often manage a larger portion of household responsibilities and are more likely to have career interruptions, especially when they have young children, compared to their male counterparts. This leads to less cumulative job experience for many women, directly impacting their earning potential.
Furthermore, there is a known phenomenon of the 'motherhood penalty', where women with families and children earn less, about 7% to 14%, compared to women without children with similar qualifications. Conversely, men typically experience a 'fatherhood bonus', earning about 10% to 15% more than single men with comparable backgrounds.
However, childless women with the same education and experience levels as men are typically paid comparably. The gender pay gap is also influenced by factors such as race and ethnicity. For example, Black women earn 69% and Hispanic women earn 64% of what white men do, whereas Asian women earn 101% of what white men earn.
Considering these complexities, saying that median and mean earnings of wives are 'at most 30 percent less than that for their husbands' would be more accurate than stating they are exactly 30 percent less, as it accounts for variations within the population.