This week the American Association of University Women released a study that revealed that pay inequality between men and women still exists.
"The research also shows that ten years after graduation, college-educated men working full time have more authority in the workplace than do their female counterparts. Men are more likely to be involved in hiring and firing, supervising others, and setting pay."
You can see the press release and study here.
For this week’s By the Numbers, we’ve examined which metros have the smallest and largest income gap between men and women. We utilized the U.S. Census American Community Survey as the primary data source and segmented regions by their size – large, medium, mid-sized and small. In all U.S. metros, the incomes of men were higher than those of women. Below, is a summary chart of which metros had the the smallest and largest income gap between men and women.
| Metro Size | Smallest Income Gap | Largest Income Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Large | Los Angeles, CA | St. Louis, MO |
| Medium | Fresno, CA | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Mid-sized | Santa Barbara, CA | Provo, UT |
| Small | Hanford, CA | New Iberia, LA |
Click below to see the full report.
What surprises you? Do you see any trends? Let’s get the discussion going!
posted by: steven
April 26th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
There seems to be a basic pattern of high-growth sunbelt cities (with uneven but generally lower “creative class” levels) being the ones with the smallest income gaps. The ones with the largest income gaps seem to be slow-or-no-growth rustbelt cities and the more stagnant sunbelt ones (especially in the Deep South). I suppose high-growth sunbelt cities are using both men and women to fuel their economies on all cylinders. There also seem to be less ingrained cultural habits against women working and fair compensation.
However, I find some curious anomalies, some of which may be explained, some which remain mysteries. Amongst large cities, Nashville seems a curious city to have a large gap. It is a relatively go-go city with lots of growth. Perhaps there are lingering Southern notions of women working? But if that’s the case, why don’t you see Richmond or Birmingham or Louisville?
The mid-sized metros follow the pattern. The smallest gaps seem to be with high-growth (but low-creative-class) sunbelt cities. The largest gaps are slow-growth rusbelt or deep south cities. But what about Colorado Springs? I don’t know why it’s there.
It’s here I notice an interesting pattern: in low-gap cities, the men are making LESS than men in high-gap cities. And the women in low-gap cities are actually making either only a LITTLE more or a LOT LESS than women in high-gap cities. That is curious.
Perhaps some of the high-gap cities are actually economically healthy overall, but the men are raking in the dough while the women are making pretty good money in absolute terms but a lot less than the high-earning men in relative ones. Another reflection of class stratification, whether in healthy cities like Boulder, Huntsville, etc. or sick ones like Flint?
Provo, UT may be due to Mormon family patterns? One has to note that Mormon women seem to be typically highly educated, but may make more child/family-oriented choices rather than career ones?
Sumter, SC is probably due to the fact that the only major employer is the nearby Air Force base – this will mean relatively low military wages for both men and women.
Martinsville, VA is a straighforward blue-collar Piedmont town – again lower wages for both men and women.
Back to the large cities – again the low-gap ones are lower-creative-class high-growth cities. You don’t see Seattle or San Francisco or New York alongside LA, Phoenix, Miami, etc.
April 26th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
MPS is exactly right about Provo and Mormon family patterns. It is the youngest city in the nation (avg age is < 25) and it is almost entirely Mormon. It’s full of young families, with college educated mothers and fathers, but many of the women stay at home. Also, aside from BYU, the biggest sectors of the economy are high tech (male-dominated field) and childcare/education (female-dominated field), so that makes a difference too. Provo is lacking in other creative class fields that have a better gender mix like marcomm, art, general science, etc.
April 27th, 2007 at 11:18 am
If I have a few minutes, I’ll try to find the comparable statistics for Calgary, Alberta Canada. This is a city at above full employment — they can’t find enough workers (whether creative class, service, class, working class) to fill all the jobs.
So one would think that male-female wage rates might be closer. Calgary also has the highest female labor force participation in Canada (and highest for men as well).
July 9th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Provo / Orem, Utah, is a community based on strong family values with safe neighborhoods and an abundance of resources and programs that the area an enviable quality of life.
August 22nd, 2010 at 12:42 pm
As long as women think it’s okay for a man to have to pay more, then men should make more!
Example 1 – I just went to the Adult Beach at Mandalay Vegas and they charged $20 for women, $50 for men.
Example 2 – How many times do you see clubs charging $20 for men when the women are FREE.
Example 3 – How many times do the women pay for a date.