Arkansas has a narrow gender wage gap
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Arkansas women don't trail their male counterparts in wages as much as elsewhere in the nation, according to census data.
By the numbers: The median income for Arkansas women in 2023 was $33,500, about $9,600 lower than the $43,100 median income for men.
- The most narrow gap was in Vermont at $8,500, while Utah had the broadest gap at about $21,400.
Between the lines: Arkansas overall has one of the highest shares of low-wage workers (people making less than $17 an hour), and the state's median income is the third-lowest in the nation at $38,600.
How it works: The wage gap doesn't mean women earn less than men for the same types of jobs — though that does happen, Axios' Emily Peck writes.
- Instead, it is a useful indicator of broad inequality between men and women in the labor market, including women being more likely to take time out from the workforce to care for children and women accounting for the majority of low-wage workers.
- Plus, jobs typically done by women often pay less than those done by a man. For example, housekeepers typically don't make as much as janitors.
Zoom out: Black and Hispanic women experience a broader gap than white women, with Black women making 70% of the median income of white men and Hispanic women making 65% of the median income of white men in 2022, compared to white women's 83%, according to the Pew Research Center.
- "To some extent, the gender wage gap varies by race and ethnicity because of differences in education, experience, occupation and other factors that drive the gender wage gap for women overall," according to Pew, adding that hiring discrimination also plays a role.