Study: R.I. ranks 15th best in nation for 18-cent wage gap between men and women

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 – Every state in the nation has a wage gap between what women and men are paid. Rhode Island ranks 15th best for its 18-cent wage gap, according to an analysis released this week from the National Partnership for Women & Families.
Rhode Island women, on average, are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, creating a yearly pay gap of $9,296.
Today is Equal Pay Day, and the nonprofit advocacy group analyzed wages in all 50 states and the District of Columbia using U.S. Census Bureau data to come up with its findings.
Louisiana has the largest wage gap at 35 cents, while the District of Columbia has the smallest gap at 10 cents, followed by New York at 13 cents.
Nationally, the median annual pay for a woman who holds a full-time, year-round job is $39,621, while the median annual pay for a man who holds a full-time, year-round job is $50,383. This means that, overall, women in the United States are paid 79 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to an annual gender wage gap of $10,762.1
In the Ocean State, women working full time make an average of $41,469 annually, while men who work full time are paid an average yearly salary of $50,765.
The wage gap means that Rhode Island women who are employed full time lose a combined total of more than $1.3 billion every year. It said nearly 58,000 Rhode Island households are headed by women, and 29 percent of these women-headed households are living below the poverty level.
“Lost wages mean families have less money to save for the future or to spend on basic goods and services – spending that helps drive the economy,” the study said.
The wage gap also can be larger for women of color. Among Rhode Island’s women who hold full-time, year-round jobs, African American women are paid 57 cents, Latinas are paid 48 cents and Asian women are paid 71 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, the study found.
“This analysis is a sobering reminder of the serious harm the wage gap causes women and families all across the country,” Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership, said in a statement. “At a time when women’s wages are so critical to the economic well-being of families, the country is counting on lawmakers to work together to advance the fair and family friendly workplace policies that would promote equal pay.”

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