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The American Gender Gap
If it feels like a long time since anyone spoke about the gender gap in the U.S., that’s probably a testament to the progress that has been made in recent years to overcome it.
The number of women in the workforce is significantly higher now than it was in the 1970s, with women currently making up about 47% of workers in the U.S. Moreover, the Department of Labor now predicts that women will occupy the majority of new jobs created between now and 2018, leading to the possibility of a complete reversal of the gender gap altogether.
Meanwhile, employed women have on average seen their compensation catch up to that of their male peers, going from earning roughly 59% of what men did in the early 1960s to earning 78.2% of the average male salary, according to 2009 census data.
Of course, 78% is still a long way from equal pay, and in some parts of the country the gap is actually much worse.
Photo Credit: WikiCommons.org
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Where the Gender Gap is Worst
The only part of the U.S. that can reliably claim to have eliminated the gender gap is Puerto Rico, where women actually earned about 3% more than men in 2009, according to the most recent data from the Census Bureau. On the mainland, the region that comes closest to this achievement is the District of Columbia, where women earned 88% of what men did in 2009. As for the rest of the country, the pay difference was generally more severe.
States along the East Coast and in the Southwest tended to show the smallest gaps, with women earning 78% to 82% of what their male counterparts made in 2009. By contrast, women living in most of the states in the Northwest and Central regions of the country earned less than three quarters the salary of what men in their region did that year. In some states, that number was actually closer to 65%, little improved from the national average of 59% some 50 years ago.
The numbers are based on the Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey, which periodically interviews some 3 million households across the country for economic and demographic information. (As a caveat, it’s worth noting that the survey only factors in adults 16 and older who worked full time during the year.)
What is particularly disturbing about the states at the bottom of the list is that in half of them, the gender gap actually became wider between 2008 and 2009. So, many of the states on this list are, at least for the time being, going in the wrong direction in pushing for gender equality.
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10th Worst Gender Gap: Iowa
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 73.7%
Year-over-year change: -2.8%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $31,431
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $42,634
Photo Credit: Nicholas_T
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9th Worst Gender Gap: North Dakota
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 73.1%
Year-Over-Year Change: +1.4%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $29,742
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $40,693
Photo Credit: afiler
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8th Worst Gender Gap: Indiana
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 72.8%
Year-Over-Year Change: +1.7%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $31,762
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $43,631
Photo Credit: blmurch
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7th Worst Gender Gap: Idaho
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 72%
Year-Over-Year Change: +0.3%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $29,122
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $40,440
Photo Credit: Amanderson2
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6th Worst Gender Gap: Michigan
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 71.9%
Year-Over-Year Change: -0.5%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $34,542
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $48,066
Photo Credit: femaletrumpet2
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5th Worst Gender Gap: Montana
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 71.5%
Year-Over-Year Change: -5.6%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $28,461
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $39,830
Photo Credit: gene1138
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4th Worst Gender Gap: West Virginia
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 69.2%
Year-Over-Year Change: +2.1%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $27,855
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $40,231
Photo Credit: bradwicklund
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3rd Worst Gender Gap: Utah
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 68.1%
Year-Over-Year Change: -1.2%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $31,386
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $45,800
Photo Credit: Pink Sherbet Photography
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2nd Worst Gender Gap: Louisiana
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 66.4%
Year-Over-Year Change: -0.9%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $29,350
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $44,174
Photo Credit: The Pug Father
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The Worst Gender Gap: Wyoming
Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s in 2009: 65.5%
Year-Over-Year Change: +1.2%
Average Salary for Women in 2009: $31,308
Average Salary for Men in 2009: $47,828
Photo Credit: Whatley Dude
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