Where U.S. Women Earn the Most, Despite the Gap

By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

In 1979, it was reported that women were making just 62 percent of what their male counterparts were making, despite having the same titles and doing the same amount of work. Though progress has been made over the last 30 years, there is still a disparity when it comes to women being fairly compensated for their work. Forbes Magazine recently compiled a list of the top-earning states for women, based on study released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in July 2009. According to the report, women are capable of earning respectable salaries in locations such as Washington D.C. where women make an average of $866 a week. But is it really progress if they’re still not earning as much as their male colleagues?

The Facts: High Salaries but the Gap Persists

According to data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2008, women generally make just 80 cents for every one dollar earned by their male colleagues. In Washington D.C., however, this percentage jumps to about 92 cents because of the multitude of high-paying government jobs with a regulated pay system, which makes the wage gap much tighter than in the rest of the country.

While the Forbes list highlights the states that pay women well, in none of these states do women earn as much as men. For example, Maryland, Connecticut and Massachusetts came in second, third, and fourth on Forbes list, meaning the Northeast is the ideal location for women to secure large salaries. Working female professionals in these three states reportedly make between $762 and $774 each week, though men in the same professions in those same areas make more than these high-earning women—20 percent more, on average. Except for Connecticut and Maryland, that is, where women are making just 73 cents and 76 cents, respectively, for every one dollar made by their male counterparts.

The Forbes list also sheds some light on the worst states for women’s earnings, many of them located in the southern and western United States. The worst state in the country for women’s earnings is Mississippi, where the average woman makes $26,520 a year- or $510 a week; women from this state also make just 75 cents for every one dollar their male colleagues make. The second worst state was Montana, where the average woman makes $528 a week- or $27,456 a year. For every one dollar a male worker in Montana makes, a female colleague makes just over 73 cents.

Age and Other Factors in the Compensation Gap

The data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics seems to suggest that age plays a major role in the pay gap. According to their findings, median weekly earnings were highest for women and men aged 45 to 64. This age range is obviously broad, but it was found that the difference in earnings of 45- to 54-year-olds and 55- to 64-year-olds was $707 and $711 for women and $944 and $943 for men. It was also discovered that on average, women aged 35 and older earned about 75 percent as much as their male counterparts in 2008, but among younger workers the difference in earnings between women and men were not as great. This can be attributed to the type of work people of this age range perform, which is usually not professional in nature. In these types of jobs, women earned about 89 percent as much as men among workers 25 to 34 years old, and 91 percent as much among 16- to 24-year-olds.

According to Ruth Milkman, Ph.D., professor of sociology at UCLA and at City University of New York Graduate Center, one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is job segregation. “The gender gap tends to be smaller within job titles than between jobs in which women predominate and in those in which men predominate. Job segregation by gender remains extensive and this is the most important single source of the pay gap. The problem is not simply ‘discrimination,’ though that occurs, but rather that women are concentrated in jobs that pay less than those in which men are concentrated- even when job requirements and educational/skill levels are comparable,” Dr. Milkman said.

She also cites geographical conditions, unionization, and the decision to have children as reasons why women often earn less than men. “Geographical conditions are an important variable,” Milkman said. “Not only do pay levels vary with the cost of living, but gender norms vary across space. Factors like the extent of unionization also affect the gender gap. In general, more unionization means less inequality by gender or class.”

“Also, Milkman continued, “and as an enormous amount of research literature documents, gender still almost always plays a role, but there are obviously many other factors. Some of this has changed over time. For example, today the gender gap between women and men just entering the labor market is minimal. But over time, and as a result of having children, women fall behind men even when their education and experience are identical. There is some evidence that employers today discriminate against mothers in particular. Men, by contrast, are not penalized for being parents. Some evidence actually suggests the opposite; that fathers are seen as especially desirable employees.”

Important progress has been made, and though it’s nice to know that women are living well in at least ten states, we can’t forget the women in the worst states. Most of us are only making 80 cents for every one dollar made by a man with a similar education, similar set of skills, and who is performing identical work. Here’s hoping that equal pay for equal work becomes a reality—soon.