ALBANY, N.Y. (WENY) — New York released a new report Tuesday from the Department of Labor on the state’s gender wage gap.
Findings from the new report show that while New York’s gender wage gap is the second smallest in the U-S, women in New York earned 88 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2021.
The report says over a 40-year career, this gap would cost a woman 350 thousand dollars in diminished lifetime earnings.
The report also finds that the pivot to remote learning and pandemic-driven closures of childcare facilities elevated the severe impact of childcare access, which the state says has long been a major problem for working women, on the gender wage gap.
The report says the labor force participation for women in New York dropped from 59.3 percent to 58.9 percent from 2019 to 2021, while the unemployment rate nearly doubled from 4.2 percent to 8.2 percent.
In 2021, over 405,000 women were unemployed, a significant increase from 207,000 in 2019. The report notes that even temporary exit from the workforce can have significant long-term financial implications.
“This report offers an important look into New York’s ongoing fight for equal pay and provides a road map for helping our state close the gender wage gap once and for all,” Governor Hochul said. “Far too many women in the workforce are still being denied equal pay for equal work, and as New York’s first woman governor, I am determined to make things right. My administration is fully committed to closing the gender wage gap, especially for the single mothers and women of color who are disproportionately affected, because better working conditions for women means a stronger, fairer economy for all.”
The report includes recommendations for greater pay equity in the state. These include increasing pay for low wage workers, expanding paid parental leave, and raising awareness about the State’s Equal Rights Amendment.
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