Women in Michigan currently make 78 cents on the dollar compared to men, which is a pay ratio of 78.17 percent, according to American Association of University Women's (AAUW) annual The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap report (www.aauw.org/resource/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap). The state ranks 36th nationally in gender pay equity, based on full-time working women compared to white males for comparable work.
Nationally, working women lose out on $500 billion a year because of a persistent gender pay gap, with women paid only 80 cents, on average, for every dollar paid to a man. The gap varies across the countrywith the largest gap in earnings in Louisiana, where women are paid 69 cents on the dollar and the smallest in California where women are paid 89 cents on the dollar.
"While the nation's unemployment rate is down, and the number of women working is up, the wage gap is sadly remaining stagnant," said Kim Churches, chief executive officer of AAUW. "It's unacceptable. There is no gender differentiation when it comes to quality, skills, and talent. It's time to close this gap and give every woman in Michigan and across the country the salaries they deserve."
The report's findings point to a need to empower women with strategies and skills to better negotiate wages and benefits. To help close the gap, AAUW is launching Work Smart Online (https://salary.aauw.org), a free one-hour digital course designed to train women in salary negotiation. The course was created with the support of the Coca-Cola Foundation, LUNA Bar, and Mooneen Lecce Giving Circle to give every woman in the U.S. the tools she needs to close her own personal wage gap. AAUW's goal is to train 10 million women in salary negotiation by 2022.
An analysis in The Simple Truth found that the jobs with the biggest collective gender gaps, where women in the profession collectively lose out on billions of dollars annually, are:
-Financial managers, $19.6 billion (65 percent pay ratio)
-Physicians and surgeons, $19.5 billion (71 percent pay ratio)
-Accountants and auditors, $17.3 billion (78 percent pay ratio)
-First-line supervisors of retail sales workers, $14.8 billion (74 percent pay ratio)
-Registered nurses, $12.5 billion (92 percent pay ratio)
The only gap favoring women among the 114 occupations analyzed by AAUW was among wholesale and retail buyers where women were paid $235 million more than men.
Below is how AAUW categorizes state equal pay laws, by strength.
Strong: California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington
Moderate: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Weak: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia
None: Alabama, Mississippi
Additional information on AAUW's advocacy work at the federal, state, and local level can be found at www.aauw.org/fairpay.
Published: Wed, Oct 24, 2018
