Idaho’s Gender Pay Gap is Worse Than You Think
Women always have and still do, make less than their male counterparts; it is a well-known fact that can be backed up by numbers. In fact, women don’t have a higher average salary than men in any state in the U.S. As Women's History Month wraps up, let's take a look at how far we have left to go when it comes to achieving equal pay, especially here in Idaho.
Based on percentage differences Idaho is ranked 45th, according to research gathered by business.org. Women in Idaho make 25% less than men do. The average woman's salary is $36,761 compared to a man's average salary of $48,861. According to the stop-pay methodology used in this research (based on the day of the year women start working for free based on the gender pay gap in each state), women in Idaho effectively stop getting paid on October 1st. Three months of basically unpaid labor?! Now I feel depressed.
Other findings reveal that our neighbors in Wyoming have the largest gender pay gap with women earning 35% less than men overall. Women in Wyoming effectively stop getting paid August 26th! Nationally, women make 18% less in their yearly earnings than men.
Reasons for a gender pay gap varies from state to state. Bussiness.org reports that some of the reasons could include
- unequal hiring practices and unequal corporate promotion
- a cultural emphasize on traditional family work structures
- the number of women-owned businesses
- the lack of local legislation that protects women from discriminatory corporate practices
We surely have come a long way in the past 100 years but in the past 10 years, research shows that progress has slowed way down. Like most things change starts at a local level. Change relies on individuals within our own community to do their part in first acknowledging these inequalities, and then taking action and committing to do different and do better.