Working women in Florida make 80 cents for every $1 paid to men, according to a report Tuesday based on U.S. Census data.
That puts Florida 11th among all states in women’s pay equity, according to the ranking by the National Partnership for Women & Families.
The top-ranked state is Vermont, where women are paid 84 cents for every $1 paid a man. The biggest gap is in Wyoming, where women are paid 64 cents for every $1 paid to men.
Nationwide, women are paid 77 cents for every $1 paid to men, with the median yearly salary gap at $10,784.
In Florida, the median pay for a woman working full time is $32,762 per year, compared with $40,731 for men, the Partnership report said. The gap grew by roughly $1,000 since 2011.
“We hope to see the gap close from year to year, but this year the gap remains stagnant,” said Sarah Crawford, spokeswoman for the National Partnership.
Catalyst, an organization that works to expand opportunities for women, said its research shows that the gap exists even when accounting for the time off some women leave the workforce to raise children.
The disparity starts early, Catalyst said. Women graduating business school are placed in lower positions and on average, paid $4,600 a year less in their first jobs than men.
“By mid-career, they’re making $31,000 less than men,” said Serena Fong, spokeswoman for Catalyst. The organization does not analyze women’s pay by state.
Cindy Kushner, founder of Women Executive Leadership which tracks women board members, said women sometimes have themselves to blame. “Men are bold in asking for increases, and women aren’t,” she said.