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Politics & Government

Maryland, DC in Top Three for Gender Pay Equity

Virginia ranks No. 29, according to new study.

 

A study by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) finds that in Washington, DC, women working full-time, year-round, earn 90 percent as much as their male counterparts, taking the No. 1 spot on the list of "State Median Annual Earnings and Earning Ratio."

Here in Maryland, women earn 86 percent as much, which places them No. 3 on the list, just behind Vermont at 87 percent. Travel south to Virginia, and that figure drops to 78 percent—only 1 percentage point above the national average of 77 percent—and 29th place.

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Christi Corbett, a senior researcher with the AAUW, told the Washington Examiner that she believes "a large population of federal government employees and a strong union presence are big reasons why there is greater parity between what men and women make in D.C. and Maryland."

The figures for Hispanic women tell a slightly different story. According to the Examiner, Hispanic women earn 56 cents for each dollar a white male makes in Virginia, compared to 46 cents and 41 cents for Maryland and D.C. respectively.

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From a historical perspective, the gender pay gap has shrunk from 40 percent in the early 1970s to 23 percent in 2011, but the AAUW's data shows that the narrowing has slowed over the past decade. These figures and some industry-specific data are cited in a 2012 Huffington Post article.

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