Friday is International Women?s Day, meant to raise awareness of violence against women and the inequalities that affect women around the world. One area the United States continues to struggle with is gender equality in pay. In 2011, the median annual earnings of men was $47,233. Women earned just 78.8 percent of the men's pay, or more than $10,000 less. This difference has remained basically unchanged over the past five years in the U.S.
In some places in this country, women have begun to approach truly equal footing. In Los Angeles, women earned more than 91 percent of the male median. However, in other parts of the country, the gender pay gap is far more severe. In Provo-Orem, Utah, the median earnings of women employed full-time, year-round, was just 61.6 percent of men, or nearly $20,000 less. Based on a review of the 100 most populous metropolitan areas, 24/7 Wall St. identified the worst-paying cities for women in the United States.
Some industries have a much smaller gender pay gap than others. In food preparation, health care, and computers and mathematics, the median earnings of women in 2011 was at least 85 percent that of men's. The areas with a higher concentration of these jobs tended to have a smaller pay gap.
Other industries have extremely wide gaps in earnings. In the legal profession, women earned barely half what men did. And because it is such a high-paying field, the difference in income was roughly $54,000. In sales, construction, mineral extraction and manufacturing jobs, there are similar gaps both in median wages and access to high-level jobs.
The cities that tend to have the biggest gender wage gap have higher concentrations of industries where earnings are unequal. Ogden, Utah has a high proportion of manufacturing jobs. Cities such as Baton Rouge, La., and Lancaster, Pa., have large construction and extraction industries.
Culture may also play a part in the cities with a higher gender wage gap. The two metropolitan regions with the biggest gap are both in Utah. In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Ariane Hegewisch, a research director for the Institute For Women?s Policy Research, explained that while Utah may also have a high proportion of industries that tend to favor men in pay -- ?they are a more traditional culture? -- meaning women are more likely to avoid high-paying jobs or receive offers.
To identify the cities that pay women the least, 24/7 Wall St. compared the median earnings for the past 12 months of both men and women who worked full-time, year-round in the country?s 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. We also reviewed employment composition by sector, also from the Census Bureau. All data was for 2011, the most recent period available.
These are the worst-paying cities for women.
1. Provo-Orem, Utah
? Women?s pay as percentage of men?s: 61.6 percent
? Median income for men: $51,692
? Median income for women: $31,846
No metropolitan area had a greater pay disparity between men and women than Provo, where the median income in 2011 for men working full time was nearly $20,000 more than the median income for women. Women who worked in personal care and service occupations earned a median of just $18,590, or 44.3 percent of the earnings of their male counterparts. The pay gap was still vast even in higher-wage positions. Women working in business and financial operations earned just 57.8 percent of what men earned in 2011, one of the largest pay gaps in that field.
2. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
? Women?s pay as percentage of men?s: 65.2 percent
? Median income for men: $52,184
? Median income for women: $34,018
Ogden-Clearfield was one of just two metro areas where the median income for women was less than two-thirds of that of men's. The median income for women was less than half the median income of men in many occupations. In the legal profession, women working full-time earned just 26.3 percent of what men earned, the biggest pay discrepancy of all metro areas in that field. Women working full time in personal care and service occupations earned just 40.3 percent of the pay that men did, again the largest pay discrepancy of all metro areas. Other jobs where women?s median income was less than half that of men's include sales, health diagnosis and treatment, and transportation occupations.
3. Lancaster, Penn.
? Women?s pay as percentage of men?s: 68.6 percent
? Median income for men: $47,318
? Median income for women: $32,446
Lancaster is an industrial town. About 11.6 percent of all full-time, year-round jobs in the region are in the manufacturing industry, the third-highest percentage of the top 100 largest metropolitan areas. Major manufacturers in the region include Armstrong World Industries and R.R. Donnelly & Sons. The median income for women in the manufacturing industry was just 64.3 percent that of men's in 2011. The gap was even worse in other fields. In the transportation industry, the median income of women was just 43 percent that of men's in 2011, one of the widest pay gaps among the largest metropolitan areas in that field.
4. Baton Rouge, La.
? Women?s pay as percentage of men?s: 69.3 percent
? Median income for men: $51,037
? Median income for women: $35,362
The median income for a woman working full time in Baton Rouge was nearly $16,000 less than the median income for a man. About 7.6 percent of the population works in the construction and extraction industry, the second-highest percentage of all metro areas measured. Many of these people are employed in chemical extraction. Chemical companies have a significant presence in Baton Rouge, with companies such as Dow Chemical, BASF and ExxonMobil?s chemical unit among the largest employers in the region. In the construction and extraction industry, women earned just 52.4 percent of what men earned in 2011. Other fields where the pay gap between men and women in Baton Rouge was large include production, where the median income of women in 2011 was just 40.6 percent of the median income of men, and transportation, where women?s earnings were just 42.8 percent that of men?s.
5. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.
? Women?s pay as percentage of men?s: 69.8 percent
? Median income for men: $45,582
? Median income for women: $31,820
The median earnings for women in the Palm Bay metropolitan area in 2011 who worked full time was less than 70 percent of that for men. The pay gap in the Palm Bay area actually bucks the trend in the state as a whole. In Florida, the median income for women was 83.8 percent that of men's, the sixth-smallest gap of all states. Nearly 3.7 percent of the population works in health support, a higher percentage than all but one other city. The pay gap in that field is very large. Women earned just over 55 percent the pay of men in 2011. One bright spot was in computer and mathematical occupations. Women earned a median income of more than $67,000, or approximately $3,900 more than the median wage for men.
Click here to read the rest of 24/7 Wall St.'s The Worst Paying Cities for Women
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?2013 24/7 Wall St.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/worst-paying-cities-women-1C8753154
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