Report confirms persistent wage gap for women
BUSINESS RECORD STAFF Sep 21, 2015 | 3:27 pm
2 min read time
362 wordsAll Latest News, Education, Lift IOWAThe gender-based wage gap is hurting women and families in every state, according to an analysis released Friday by the National Partnership for Women & Families.
On average, women who are employed full time, year-round in the United States are paid 79 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap in wages of $10,762, according to the report, which is based on U.S. Census Bureau data.
In Iowa, a woman who holds a full-time job is paid, on average, $36,522 per year while a man who holds a full-time job is paid $47,202 per year, according to astate summary. This means that women in Iowa are paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly wage gap of $10,680 between men and women who work full time in the state. On average, Iowa women who are employed full time lose a combined total of more than $5 billion annually due to the wage gap.
“This study confirms that a punishing wage gap persists for women in every corner of the country, and the costs for women, their families and our national and state economies are significant,” said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
The organization advocates passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which it said would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, help to break patterns of pay discrimination and establish stronger workplace protections for women.
Loss of income that could go toward basic necessities is especially relevant for the more than 15.2 million households in the United States that are headed by women, 31 percent of whom live in poverty, according to the new Census Bureau data.
The new study also includes the wage gap for women of color at the national level. African-American women who work full time, year-round are paid 60 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men who work full time, year-round. Latinas are paid just 55 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. For Asian-American women, the gap is smaller but persists. On average, Asian-American women are paid 84 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.
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