Because that's not necessarily a valid assumption.
Maybe the author could re-post a version that has a better breakdown of race and genders?
Current one excludes black males, Asian males as well as Hispanic whites. Also doesn’t aggregate per occupation, seniority nor immigration status. And despite mainly focusing on gender equity omits white woman?
There has been a trend in social studies lately to just group whites and Asians together when convenient in order to avoid discussing certain issue [0]. Hope the author isn’t trying the same tactics here [1].
[0] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/ex-recruiter-accu...
[1] https://nextshark.com/students-of-color-washington-asians-wi...
Louis CK, Snooki, Vanna White, Charlie Sheen, Nicole Richie, and Ryan Lochte are all considered white, but have Latino ancestry.
I did some rough-and-dirty calculations based on US census data (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI725219) and the 83-cent statistic in the article. Turns out non-Latina white women actually earn _more_: about $1.03 for every $1.00 earned by non-Latino white men.
A lack of transparency will do more to hurt gender and racial equality in the long run. It's better to leave the statistic in and explain why the numbers are as they are instead of turning a blind eye.