Why San Diego's gender pay gap is wider than the state's
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California has one of the nation's lowest gender pay gaps, according to 2023 census data, but women are still overrepresented in lower-paying jobs.
Why it matters: Gender pay differences persist in part because of discrimination, job segregation and "a lack of workplace policies that support family caregiving, which is still most often performed by women," according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.
By the numbers: The median pay for women who worked in California in 2023 was about $11,000 less than for men, according to data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
- That's the 10th smallest wage gap among U.S. states, and $600 narrower than in 2022.
- San Diego County's was wider, at about $15,300, in 2023 and grew by about $1,700 from the previous year.
Zoom in: Latina women in California face the largest pay differences — their median earnings were $44,041 lower than white men in 2023, per census data.
- White women were paid about $23,250 less annually, Black women $32,806 less, Asian women $20,558 less, Native American women $43,270 less and Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander women $33,803 less.
Driving the news: The state released a breakdown of gender and racial pay disparities this week for Equal Pay Day — which marks how far into the year women need to work to earn as much as men did the previous year.
- Women and people of color were more often among the lowest paid workers and more likely to be concentrated in lower paying positions, per state data collected from employers in 2023.
- Workers in the highest pay range ($144,560+) were also almost twice as likely to be men than women, and most senior managers or executives were also men.
Between the lines: Major local industries with high-paying jobs related to "phones, drones, genomes" — including health care, technology and software — tend to hire more men and compensate them at higher rates than women, the Union-Tribune reported.
- Plus, unaffordable child care forces many women to quit their jobs and then earn less if they return to the workforce.
- Parenthood can send men's and women's earnings in opposite directions, and "family caregiving responsibilities bring different pressures for working women and men," according to the Pew Research Center.
The big picture: Nationally, the wage gap widened for the first time in 20 years in 2023, with women earning 83% of what their male counterparts made.
- Utah had the highest overall gender wage gap in 2023 ($21,400), while Vermont had the lowest (about $8,500), according to census data.
What we're watching: President Trump's cuts to diversity initiatives, efforts to reshape labor boards and mass layoffs in the federal workforce could hinder progress in closing the pay gap and limit opportunities for women to secure good-paying jobs.