>> that's the home page of our website that you are looking at now, with the bangladesh politician to be executed as the top story. and this is "real money." >> this is "real money" and you are the most important part of the show. join our live conversation for the next half hour on twitter @aj real money. there is good news for american women who are just starting their careers. the gender pay gap which has always favored men has narrowed

to its closest level in history. the pew research center just finish ta tabulated the data, women have seen their wages rise 93% of men doing the same work . median hourly wages for all working women have increased 25% while they've actually decreased 4% for men. well for today's millennial generation women have reached parity in other ways as well. women aged 25 to 43 were in the labor force in 2012 compared to 70% of men in the same age group. yet, pew said there is no guarantee that today's young women will sustain their new parity with men in the coming years. part that have will be by choice. women today are still more

likely to take time off from work when they get married or have children while for men the opposite is still true. they're more likely to keep working. and when you factor all of that in, the pay gap for all female workers aged 16 and older is 84% of what men make. that's still a significant gap. women still have made progress closing it over the last three decades. stay on twitter and facebook we've been asking you what changes need to be made to close the pay gap in the workplace. : tell what's you think by tweeting us at @aj real money or @ali velshi. according to the pure report 49% at work with at least a

bachelor's degree were women. joining us to talk to us with these numbers is linda barrington at the institute for compensation studies at cornell university, joining us in studio, that increase in terms of education, what impact has that had? >> it's one of the most important things in terms of getting a job, keeping a job, keeping higher pay. the fact that women are now better educated, it's a huge advance. >> are there particular sectors in the economy where it remains closed or are there sectors where it's very wide. >> breaking it down by occupation because women still very much cluster into certain occupations and men into others. there are some very extremes. if you look at speech language pathologist 93% are women. pilots and flight engineers only 4% are. and the pay differences are between those jobs.

what women choose to do is a big factor. >> but as far as within those jobs, pilots, a field dominated by women, are women making roughly the same as male pilots with the same age and experience? >> they do better in stem focused occupation. if you look at computer and mathematical occupations there the gap is smaller than in education and library. but then there is some strange occupations where you realize it's not just about the gap. if you take social services the gap is only 93% for everyone of any age. for women. so that tends to be a lower paid occupation. we want to think both about the gap but also about the actual level of earnings that women make in these different jobs. >> given now the impact of having a kid, staying at home. that's a greater impact than it was before. that must an particular challenge for women who want to work but also want a family, and they're faced with eternal question, do you stay home or

keep working? >> that again is where the type of job you're doing plays out different. science and technology are jobs that have a shorter shelf life. if you take time off those jobs it's hard for come back in. your skills deteriorate faster. if you look at how long women are out of the workforce and the jobs they do. >> and i suppose for men who want to stay home and not work, they cantic hurt. >> again, it depends on the occupation. women are half the workforce but they're only a quarter of engineering and math jobs. the under representation really plays out. >> we appreciate it. if did you not own shares of facebook before you might now. the stock will be added to the popular s&p 500 index which is considered to be the best representation of the broader stock market. it means that facebook will also be added to many popular mutual

funds and index funds held in retirement accounts. the move will happen after the close of trading december 20th. we'll take a look at the five states with the highest minimum wages, and does more pay help the economy? we'll take a look at those who need a lift the most. a new report on america's home ohless. >> one of the common myths about homelessness is that a homeless person is typically sleeping under a bridge or on the street or suffering from mental illness. homelessness is about women with children who have no place to go. >> what it's really like to be homeless in america. that story and more as real money continues.

the stream is uniquely interactive television. in fact, we depend on you, your ideas, your concerns. >> all these folks are making a whole lot of money. >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> i think you've offended everyone with that kathy. >> hold on, there's some room to offend people, i'm here. >> we have a right to know what's in our food and monsanto do not have the right to hide it from us. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> watch the stream. >> and join the conversation online @ajamstream. >> al jazeera america is the only news channel that brings you live news at the top of every hour. >> here are the headlines at this hour. >> only on al jazeera america. still experienced some racial tension. so my parents who both started

out in segregated schools made sure i knew my history as a young african american girl. they made me learn about martin luther king's march on washington and watch nelson mandela's acceptance speech when he first took the podium as president. >> so help me god. >> fast forward 17 years later. i'm an eager college senior. and it's no surprise i chose south africa as the place to go for my fellowship. when i got there, i started teaching kids in one of the country's poorest townships, kids all born the year that mandela was freed. they were, as we say in south [[voiceover]] no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives.

opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life.

>> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america

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>> america's economy may be on the mend, but more americans are being left behind. the u.s. conference of mayors is out tonight with its annual report on hunger and hopelessness. it finds the ranks of the homeless has risen by 4% in 25 cities surveyed. that's a measure of homeless individuals and families. but 22% of homeless people who need assistance in those cities did not get it this past year. there are many shades of homelessness in america. and a quarter of homeless in are children. many homeless actually have jobs. for many changing the cycle is

not easy. we'll go to julia coolly, a teacher's assistant in atlanta who has a four-year-old son. >> you want your sweater? >> i wake up every morning at 5:00. right now it's 10 to 6:00. my bus should be coming up on the hill. i commute a total of 5 hours every day. i am technically homeless because i'm place to place, and i don't have the stability. i take turns. i spend time with my partners, and i spent time with my grand pargrandparents. i try to stay stable. >> one of the common myths will homelessness is that a homeless person is typically sleeping under a bridge or suffering from a mental illness. the reality is homelessness is about women with children who have no place to go.

>> i haven't eat my vegetables. >> today is a big day. i'm going to pick up my new keys to my knew place. my two-room apartment. today is a huge day. >> wait on me, buddy. >> yule i can'julia came to ouro participate in our training program. >> it was just natural for me. i love singing the songs. i love playing with the kids and actually have something to offer. >> our house provides early education and family support services for families experiencing homelessness. >> i became homeless in may of 2008. i received a job found out i was pregnant. for medical reasons i had to quit that job which put me in the cycle of unemployment. my mom was just like, you know, we think you'll be better in a shelter. i'm like, how can a mom make that--how can a mom have that

reasoning, that logic? in october of 2011, just to think about it, it was the first time i received money for working on my own. wow. three years. no job. >> for many of the families that we serve when they come in their lives are, as you can imagine, they're like a deck of cards. they're stacking their successes carefully upon one another. but like a deck of cards if you remove the wrong card it can all come tumbling down. >> right now i'm working towards financial stability to pay my bills, and to have enough money to take my son to a movie, you know. >> i love you, have the best day. >> it will be good for me and my son to be in our own space, our own environment. today is just so important to me because come monday he will be in one place. his toys will be in one place. he won't have to worry about sharing a bed with somebody.

let's go get those keys. >> what happened? >> no key. i got to get georgia power situated and the gas company situated. >> things that happened to julia are unfortunately partnershipcal when it comes to families mover forward with their lives. the reason is there are certain requirements that every agency has to have. >> i wanted to feel the keys in my hand. i wanted to be able to go to my son and say, luke, look, buddy, i got my keys. but a happy meal will do. he'll be all right. >> several months later julia has applied for a new position at our house which she hopes will bring in extra money. she still however has not gotten in her own apartment. at $9.15 she said she now realizes she doesn't make enough to pay rent and make ends meet. to hear more of julia's story in her own words go to our website at www.aljazeera.com/real money. don't forget our question for

the day. what changes need to be made in the gender gap. or yo tweet us or leave a comment at our facebook page. to read more you can go to www.aljazeera.com/real money. a dutch company announced after plans of putting human beings on mars, 200 people signed up. they hope to send a robotic landing on mars four years from now. and if all goes well travel to space will begin in 2025. the weed out process will be intense because whoever travels to mars will never be able to get back to earth. getting to the planet is feasible. coming home is not. here is another challenge. nothing has been invented to

protect human beings from deadly radiation in space. however a lot of people obviously don't care. it's easy to ridicule such folks, and i'm not sure that the mars one company will be able to bankroll this project as planned by selling reality television shows. the real housewives of mars, i don't think so. but still the human conditions usually benefits when at least some of us dream big. so hats off to mars one and all who have sent in astronaut applications. good luck, and god speed. that's our show for today. the research that has nordstrom taking notes. i'm david shuster in for ali velshi. thanks for joining us. national transportation safety board

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. here are the top story we are following this hour - syrian rebels will no longer receive nonlethal assistance like body armour from the united states. the u.s. was worried the supplies were seized by fighters with links to al qaeda. humanitarian aid will continue. >> 365,000 americans have signed up for health insurance through online exchanges. enrolment triple the since october. health secretary kathleen sebelius called for an inquiry. >> the national transportation safety board deterne