Women in Alabama earn about 76 percent of the pay men earn in a year, according to a new wage gap analysis published by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee. Nationally, the gap is 80 percent.
The report ranks Alabama's gender wage gap at 39th out of all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
Median earnings for women in Alabama are $34,310 per year, versus men's $45,057.
New York has the smallest gender pay gap in the country, at 89 percent, while Wyoming has the largest, where women earn just 64 percent of what men earn.
The gap widens when comparing earnings of black and Hispanic women in Alabama versus their white male counterparts. In Alabama, white women earn 73 percent of what white men make, while black women earn 58 percent and Hispanic women just 50 percent. Asian women fare better, at 74 percent.
The gender wage gap was calculated based on median annual earnings disparities between men and women for annual full-time work.
The gender wage gap has narrowed over time, but at the current rate of change won't close completely until 2059.
The report highlighted some factors that contribute to the gender wage gap, though exact causes are complex.
- Women are more likely to study in lower-paying fields, work in occupations and industries that pay less, interrupt their careers to care for children and serve as primary caregiver.
- However, out of 120 occupations with enough men and women to make a comparison, women earn less than men in 116 of them.
The report highlighted a few other points:
- The wage gap widens for older women. Women ages 15-24 working full-time earn 91 percent of what their male counterparts earn, but women ages 25-44 earn 82 percent.
- Women are often out-earned by men with less education. A woman with a graduate degree earns $5,000 less than a man with a bachelor's degree.
- The U.S. economy is $2 trillion bigger today than it would have been if women had not increased their participation and work hours since 1970, according to the Council of Economic Advisers.
Find the article here.
