This first release in IWPR’s series, Status of Women in the States: 2015, analyzes data points related to women’s employment and earnings, and includes state-by-state projections on when the gender wage gap will close. The report also includes data on topics such as: low-wage workers, older women, millennials, immigrant women, women with disabilities, women in unions, and women in STEM occupations, and includes detailed breakdowns by race and ethnicity.
Along with this report, IWPR launched an accompanying interactive website, www.statusofwomendata.org, a tool for leaders and the public to access information and additional data for each state.
Key Findings
- In nearly half of all states and the District of Columbia, women’s economic status has either worsened or remained unchanged in the last decade .
- If current trends in narrowing the pay gap in the states continue, the year when women in the United States will achieve equal pay is 2058, but new projections for each state find this date is much further out in the future for women in many parts of the country. Five states—West Virginia, Utah, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Wyoming—will not see equal pay until the next century.
- A typical working woman loses $530,000 over her lifetime due to the wage gap. The losses are greater for women with higher levels of education. By the time a college-educated working woman turns 59, she will have lost almost $800,000.
More Data Coming Spring 2015
Throughout the spring, IWPR will release additional reports from the Status of Women in the States: 2015 with national and state-level data on Poverty & Opportunity, Violence & Safety, Health & Well-Being, Reproductive Rights, Political Participation, and Work & Family. Data on Violence & Safety and Work & Family are new additions to the 2015 edition.
Visit www.statusofwomendata.org for more information about the Status of Women in the States project and upcoming releases.