In Every State, Women Are Paid Less Than Men

New National Women’s Law Center analysis examines the gender wage gap, providing a state-by-state ranking of women’s median earnings compared with men’s (for people working full time, year round) for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The ranking is based on new U.S. Census Bureau data.

•   The ten states with the largest wage gaps were: Wyoming, Louisiana, Utah, West Virginia, North Dakota, Mississippi, Michigan, Alabama, Montana and Idaho.
•   In 2011, Wyoming had the largest wage gap, with the typical woman working full time, year round making just 66.6 percent of what her male counterpart made. The gap in Wyoming amounts to more than $17,200 annually—a gap equivalent to half of the typical woman’s earnings in Wyoming in 2011.
•   Louisiana (68.8 percent) and Utah (69.0 percent) also had wage gaps of more than 30 cents.
•   In 2011, the District of Columbia had the smallest wage gap—women working full time, year round, were paid 90.4 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts.
•   The nine best states for working women, in order were: Vermont, Maryland, California, Nevada, Rhode Island, Arizona, New York, Florida, and Arkansas.
•   Even in states with smaller wage gaps, the difference in earnings was substantial. For example, while D.C. had the smallest wage gap of all the states, this gap in earnings still amounted to the typical woman earning $6,400 less in a year, as compared to her male counterpart.

The following is a statement by Fatima Goss Graves, NWLC Vice President of Education and Employment:

“The longstanding wage gap has practical implications for millions of families. For women working in Wyoming—the state with the largest wage gap—a 33.4 cent gap translates to more than $17,000 in lost wages each year. Over 40 percent of mothers are their families’ primary breadwinners, and they need a full and fair income to support their households. Congress has a responsibility to address an inequity that discriminates against half the population and should immediately enact the Paycheck Fairness Act to finally move the needle on this economic imperative.”

Here is the link to the state-by-state ranking:
http://www.nwlc.org/resource/2011-wage-gap-state-rankings

Source: Press Release – National Women’s Law Center