Men are paid $14K more than women in Pa.
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Pennsylvania has the nation's 18th highest gender pay gap, according to 2023 census data.
Why it matters: Gender pay differences partly reflect "a lack of workplace policies that support family caregiving, which is still most often performed by women," writes the National Partnership for Women and Families.
- Women continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying professions, and "family caregiving responsibilities bring different pressures for working women and men," according to the Pew Research Center.
By the numbers: The median pay for women who worked in Pennsylvania in 2023 was about $14,300 less than for men, according to data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
- If this wage gap were eliminated, a woman could, on average, pay 12 months of rent or 9 months of health insurance premiums.
- This gap is higher than in Ohio, New York, West Virginia and Maryland.
Yes, but: Women of color continue to face significantly larger wage gaps compared to their white, male counterparts.
Case in point: The median pay for working Latina women in Pennsylvania was about $28,500 less than for white men in 2023. Meanwhile, the wage gap between white men and white women was roughly $18,300.
The latest: Lawmakers introduced House Bill 630 last month, which would ban wage discrimination based on gender, race or ethnicity, as well as protect workers from retaliation and prevent employers from using pay history to set salaries.
Zoom out: Utah had the highest overall gender wage gap in 2023, ($21,400), while Vermont had the lowest (about $8,500).