Gender Pay Gap Smaller in California, Study Says

The gender pay gap, or the difference between what women earn and what men earn for similar jobs, is smaller in California than in any other state, a study released Wednesday found.

Nationwide, women earn about 74 cents for every dollar earned by men doing the same work. In California, women earn about 84 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to the report from the AFL-CIO and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research called “Equal Pay for Working Families.”

But what sounds like good news for the state’s women is not so great after all, the report contends. The median earnings of California’s women are closer to those of men because “the wages of minority men are so low,” says the study, which is based on data from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some economists dispute the notion of a gender wage gap, saying that the disparity disappears after accounting for differences in age, education, occupation and experience.

The AFL-CIO has adopted equal pay for women as a top legislative priority for this year. The report calls for better enforcement of equal pay and employment discrimination laws as well as new, tougher laws.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Wage Difference

Despite progress made since equal-pay laws were adopted more than 30 years ago, the average woman who works full time earns only 74.4% of what the average man earns, according to an AFL-CIO report. In California, the gap is smaller, but that is primarily because of low earnings for minority men, the report said.

*

Gender Wage Gap

Median weekly earnings nationwide by gender and minority status for full-time workers in 1997:

*--*

Gender Female/male Women Men wage gap wage ratio All races $431 $579 $148 74.4% White (non-Hispanic) 462 631 169 73.2 Minorities* 369 415 46 88.9

*--*

*

Minority Wage Gap

Median weekly earnings nationwide by minority status for full-time workers in 1997:

*--*

White Minority Minority/white Minorities* (non-Hispanic) wage gap wage ratio Both sexes $400 $554 $154 72.2% Women 369 462 93 79.9 Men 415 631 216 65.8

*--*

*Minority workers include those who are African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native American, Aleut Eskimo or another race, and Hispanics, who may be of any race.

Sources: Labor Department, Institute for Women’s Policy Research