Connecticut Women Paid Less Than Men For Same Work: Study

Connecticut women make $0.18 less per dollar earned than their male counterparts for the same work, or 82 cents compared to $1, according a new study released last week by the National Partnership for Women & Families.

The Constitution State ranked 37th in the nation in the wage gap between women and men, just behind the state's neighbors to the north, Massachusetts, where women make $0.17 less per dollar, or 83 cents per dollar.

New York and Delaware are tied for having the narrowest pay gap, where women earn $0.11 less per dollar than men, or 89 cents. Wyoming has the largest pay gap, $0.36, or 64 cents per dollar.

The national average is a $0.20 gap, or 80 cents for every dollar. And African-American and Hispanic women fared even worst than white women, according to the report, or 63 cents and 54 cents for every dollar, respectively.

"This analysis shows just how damaging that lost income can be for women and their families, as well as the economy and the businesses that depend on women’s purchasing power," said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership, in a statement. The group released the report in connection with the national Equal Pay Day on April 4. "Entire communities, states and our country suffer because lawmakers have not done nearly enough to end wage discrimination or advance the fair and family friendly workplace policies that would help erase the wage gap."

For more information on how the report's findings were determined, click here.

In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman say they hope to close the state's gender pay gap.

"In this day and age it is unacceptable for women – doing the same work and making the same valuable contribution – to earn less than a man for no reason other than being female," said Malloy in a statement. "The gender wage gap negatively impacts our economy, puts a burden on households, and most of all, is morally wrong. In Connecticut, we are working every day toward ensuring that workers receive the fair wage that they are owed and have earned. Our economy depends on it, and women deserve it."

Added Wyman said, "Equal pay for equal work is fundamental to a just society. The gender wage gap is a persistent injustice that harms today’s working women – and damages the generations of women coming up behind us. Wage equality benefits the economic security of our workforce and their families. It also speaks to our core values as Americans – and that we recognize the impact of women’s work on our global competitiveness. No matter their gender, the world we leave to our children and grandchildren should pay them equally for equal work."

To read the full study by the National Partnership for Women & Families, click here.

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(Editor's Note: Patch is re-posting this story in case you missed it the first time around.)