Indicator: 44 - Gender Income Disparity

Why This Is Important

Disparities in the amount of money that women make compared to men provide disincentives for women to contribute to the labor force, and impair economic growth by not fully realizing the benefit of having productive, economic contributions from all people. Gender disparities are even greater in some particular occupations than for the state as a whole.

Where We Stand

In 1997, the median annual income of all women in Maine who worked full-time for the entire year was estimated to be $22,177, compared to a median income of $30,505 earned by men who worked full-time, full-year. This translates to an earnings ratio of 72.7%, placing Maine 21st among all states, a significant improvement from 1996 data, which ranked Maine 41st. Nationally, the earnings ratio was 73.5%. These earnings ratios and Maine's national rank are based on aggregate data from 1996 to 1998. This is not a job-for-job comparison; instead it compares wages earned based on equal time worked (on average, women work fewer hours per week and fewer weeks per year, resulting in an even greater disparity in the total amount of annual income earned by men and women).

Data Sources and Context

The data source for this indicator is the Maine Development Foundation's "Measures of Growth," which cites data generated by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (2000).