Connecticut women working full time earn 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap of $10,864 per person, a fresh analysis from a national interest group shows.
The National Partnership for Women & Families, which analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, said the difference in pay parity means women in Connecticut lose a combined total of nearly $15 billion a year. That money could strengthen an economy in which more than 170,000 households in the state are headed by women, and nearly a quarter of those are in poverty, the organization said.
If the gap between women’s and men’s wages in Connecticut were eliminated, the analysis shows, a woman in the state who holds a full-time, year-round job would have enough money for 1.6 more years of food, more than five additional months of mortgage and utilities payments, nearly 10 more months of rent, more than 11 additional months of child care and have money for education as well.
Connecticut has the 15th smallest cents-on-the-dollar gap in the nation, the report found.
Nationally, women who hold full-time, year-round jobs in the United States are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to men.
Release of the report was timed for national Equal Pay Day, which is Tuesday, when members of Congress are expected to reintroduce the Paycheck Fairness Act, a measure aimed at helping to prevent pay discrimination and establish stronger workplace protections for women.
The report also analyzed the wage gap for Latinas in the state, as well as in each of Connecticut’s congressional districts.
All findings for all 50 states and the District of Columbia can be found on the partnership’s website.
