Report: Wage gap persists in R.I., as women make 82 cents for every dollar paid to men

IN RHODE ISLAND, women are paid, on average, 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a $9,000 wage gap between women and men, according to an analysis from the National Partnership for Women & Families
IN RHODE ISLAND, women are paid, on average, 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a $9,000 wage gap between women and men, according to an analysis from the National Partnership for Women & Families

PROVIDENCE – In Rhode Island, women are paid, on average, 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a $9,000 wage gap between women and men, according to an analysis from the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
The group said women in Rhode Island who hold full-time jobs are paid on average $41,469 a year, compared with $50,765 for men who hold full-time jobs.
Nationally, the gap is wider, with women paid on average just 79 cents to every dollar paid to men, the group said. And for women of color, the gap is even greater, as African-American women are paid 60 cents and Latinas are paid 55 cents for every dollar paid to
white, non-Hispanic men.
Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership, said lawmakers at all levels need to step up to fix the wage gap problem by combating discrimination and adopting family-friendly workplace policies.
“In Congress, passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act would be a long overdue place to start,” she said in a statement.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, establishing stronger workplace protections for women.

The group said that on average, Rhode Island women employed full time lose more than $1.3 billion dollars every year due to the wage gap, and families, businesses and the economy suffer, as lost wages mean families have less money to spend on goods and services that help drive economic growth.

If the wage gap were eliminated, on average, a working woman in Rhode Island would have enough money for approximately 71 more weeks of food for her family (more than one year’s worth); five more months of mortgage and utilities payments; and 10 more months of rent.

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It said that in Rhode Island, 58,000 family households are headed by women, but 29 percent, or 16,617 families, have incomes below the poverty level, which is approximately $20,000 for a family of three, according to healthcare.gov.

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