Delaware has the second smallest pay gap between women and men in comparable jobs.
Still, an analysis released in time for Equal Pay Day, which is today, shows women in the first state are paid 89 cents for every dollar paid to men.
The analysis was conducted by the National Partnership for Women & Families and used data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The full set of findings is available here.
Critics of the gender pay gap claim the difference in wages is due to women making lifestyle choices and flawed data. The pay gap has been narrowing over the year.
Women employed full-time, year-round in Delaware are paid 89 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap of $5,845, according to a release accompanying the report.
Updated: Legislation would bar employers from seeking wage history
That means Delaware women lose a combined total of more than $2 billion every year, the release stated.
The release also took note of the 49,000 Delaware households headed by women, of which 25 percent are at or below the poverty line.
“Equal Pay Day is a painful reminder that women in this country have had to work more than three months into this year just to catch up with what men were paid last year,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership. “This analysis shows just how damaging that lost income can be for women and their families, as well as the economy and the businesses that depend on women’s purchasing power. Entire communities, states and our country suffer because lawmakers have not done nearly enough to end wage discrimination or to advance the fair and family friendly workplace policies that would help erase the wage gap.”
Nationally, women who hold full-time, year-round jobs in the United States are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to men. Black women are paid 63 cents and Latinas just 54 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. White, non-Hispanic women are paid 75 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. Asian women are paid 85 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, although some ethnic subgroups of Asian women fare much worse. And mothers with full-time, year-round jobs are paid 70 cents for every dollar paid to fathers.
Every state and 94 percent of the country’s congressional districts have the pay gap, the release noted.
The biggest differences in the country are in Wyoming, Louisiana, West Virginia, Utah and North Dakota.
Members of Congress are expected to reintroduce the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would help break harmful patterns of pay discrimination and establish stronger workplace protections for women, the release stated. See full report below:
[pdf-embedder url=”http://delawarebusinessnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf”]
