Utah’s wage gap among widest
Utah has one of the widest wage gaps between the genders because of discrimination, the local culture and education, according to the most recent report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau.
“This is a very complex problem that people try to simplify,” Susan Mannon, assistant professor of sociology, social work and anthropology, said.
Mannon said many factors play a part in Utah’s consistent ranking as having one of the highest gender wage gaps in the nation. She said the problem is due, in part, to discrimination, whether intentional or not.
“The perception is that women are not the primary income earners for their families,” Mannon said. “But with the decline of men’s wages over the past 20 years and the increase in single parent homes, women’s incomes are often the only source of income or just as important as their spouse’s income.”
Janet Osborne, director of the Women’s Center at USU, said “Women are penalized if they leave the work force to have a family.” She said it is in the workforce climate that women are seen as less committed to their jobs if they take time off or work part time to be at home more and that they are seen as more of a risk to employ.
Osborne said women enter the workforce at nearly equitable pay, but the wage gap increases when women take time off for pregnancies or other reasons and lose opportunities for promotion and experience that leads to raises. By the end of their careers, Osborne said there is simply no way women can close the gap.
Utah’s culture plays a large part in the gap as well, Richley Crapo, professor of sociology, social work and anthropology, said. He said while the issue should be of concern, it is one that is deeply rooted in the culture of the area where men and women get married earlier than the national average. This translates into men entering the workforce earlier, but the situation created for some women is one where they don’t finish college, don’t enter the workforce or begin families at earlier ages, Crapo said.
Osborne said the culture of the area feeds the unintentional discrimination that happens because of the way the system in today’s job market is set up. “Women’s lives and responsibilities are different in our culture than men’s are, and the job market doesn’t accommodate that,” Osborne said.
Another factor to consider, Lecia Langston, economist for Utah’s office of Workforce Services said, is that of the education gap. She said women are less likely to receive a college education or to go into higher-paying fields.
“We have the largest gap between men and women receiving a bachelor’s degree, and when [women] do go to college, they tend to choose lower-paying occupations. Utah women are slower going into the nontraditional careers for women, which are usually the higher paying careers,” Langston said.
Mannon said the solution to the problem is not simply time. “There needs to be more enforcement of the 1963 Equal Pay Ac;, we need to enforce the laws on the books. Then we need to create a more equal division of labor in the homes and start a national conversation about the allocation of work,” she said.
Osborne said there needs to be a shift in the climate and flexibility of the workplace that does not penalize women for the way the culture is set up – because low wages for women affect many people. “With the lowering of men’s wages, more women need to work to support families, and in single parent households, this is the only income available. We just don’t know the situation; maybe this woman is caring for her elderly parents. Women live longer and are paid less, and this affects more people that just that one woman,” she said.
Christy Glass, assistant professor of sociology, social work and anthropology, said she believes that affirmative action, the integration of women into traditionally male jobs and vice versa and the promotion of wider career choices for children is key to helping alleviate the wage gap. She said that USU is on the right path by “encouraging strong women to come here.”
“USU is recruiting strong women to be on their faculty and is facilitating that by accommodating their spouses to make it possible for [the women] to teach here,” she said.
The problem of the wage gap is not one that will be immediately or easily solved, Glass said, because cultural barriers, discrimination and educational disparities are not easily overcome, but it is a problem that must be addressed.
-dilewis@cc.usu.edu