Intuit

This Map Will Tell You How Big The Gender Pay Gap Is In Your State

Blog Repost from Fast Company; Infographic from Intuit.The Gender Pay Gap: State by State

By RACHEL GILLET

March 25, 2014

We’ve come a long way with gender equality in the workplace, but not far enough. Women are still making less than men all over the country. How much less? Take a look at this map to find out how your state stacks up when it comes to the gender pay gap.

It’s a fact that’s difficult to ignore–women in the workplace generally make less money than men.

The gender pay gap is not a new issue–equality in the workplace has been an uphill battle for American women for years.

During World War II, women entered the workforce in droves to fill the void left by men deployed overseas. But by the end of the war, many women were forced back into lower-paying jobs–or laid off in favor of returning servicemen.

We’ve come a long way since then, and there are now women occupying a number of high-paying, high-responsibility jobs. But the pay gap between men and women’s earnings has been slow to close. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women were earning only 62 cents per dollar earned by men in 1979.

Even today, women in the United States are paid on average only 77 cents for every dollar men make, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. America doesn’t even make the top-10 list for countries with gender parity.

Lead Economist at Payscale Katie Bardaro believes that the wage gap comes down to the positions men and women choose. She says that women more frequently fill jobs with a large societal benefit, but less monetary benefit.

But recent studies have found that even many women entrepreneurs pay themselves salaries equivalent to 80% of those of their male counterparts.

So what is going on here? It turns out, the pay gap varies state by state, which could help provide more insight into why the gap exists.

In places like Washington, D.C., and Vermont, women made more than 83% of what men were paid in 2012, while states like Wyoming and Louisiana saw women making less than 69% of men’s wages.

How does your state stack up?

Take a look at the infographic above from small business software company Intuit and let us know in the comments if you notice any patterns.