April 17, 2012

Data released for Equal Pay Day show that wages for Utah women remain considerably lower than for men. Women in Utah are paid 69 cents for every dollar paid to men — amounting to a yearly gap of $14,446. And with nearly 85,500 Utah households led by women, the new data show that these gaps harm families and the state economy, according to a report by National Partnership for Women & Families. A woman working full time, year round receives $32,163 per year, while the median yearly pay for a man is $46,609. Women are paid 69 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap of $14,446 between full-time working men and women. African American and Latina women working full time are paid 52 cents for every dollar paid to men, a difference of more than $22,200 per year. Women working full time, year round are paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to all men. African American women are paid 62 cents and Latinas are paid 54 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. The analysis ranks Utah 48th among the 50 states in gender-based wage gap. Only Louisiana, ranked 49th, and Wyoming, 50th, fare worse. The gap in earnings for Utah women isn’t all that surprising, considering their poor college graduation rates according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Utah has the worst disparity in the nation between men and women earning bachelor’s degrees or higher — a difference of 6 percentage points. The Utah education gap more than doubles that of the next closest state, Idaho, at 2.4 percentage points, while the national average is 0.6 points. Yes, the Patriarchal Order still thrives in Utah.