| Womenâs Equality Day is today, Thursday, Aug. 26, so now is a good time to take a look at the gender pay gap not only nationally, but right here in West Virginia.
Despite major improvements for women, including increased loans for woman business owners, the gender pay gap still stands at 18% nationally, meaning that women make, on average, 18% less than men.
WV women make 24% less than men.
The average West Virginia man makes $46,946 annually, but the average woman only makes $35,748.
Some reasons for the still drastic wage gap include:
Lack of equal access to funding for female-owned businesses
Corporate cultures that tend to promote men or where men are more likely to get raises
Unequal hiring practices
States with cultures that emphasize traditional family work structures
The number of women-owned businesses in a given state
Lack of local legislation that protects women from discriminatory corporate practices
The highest male favoring pay gaps go way beyond the expected few percent. Male legal occupants make 145% of female legal assistants. Similarly, male medical scientists and financial managers make over 130% of the wage of their female counterparts.
The national income disparity between men and women is showing signs of stagnation. The only way to take the next crucial steps towards workplace equality is to change deeply ingrained practices and cultures that tend to promote men over equally deserving women.
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