New York City—often seen as a bastion of progressive policies—still suffers from the same gender pay gap that mars the rest of the country, a new study by the city’s comptroller has found.
The gap worsens as the women age, too.
Women under 35 make 82 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts, while women over 35 fare even worse, making just 78 cents to a man’s dollar.
The study was released on Equal Pay Day, a public awareness campaign that marks the day each year when women’s pay finally meets their male counterpart’s paycheck from last year.
While the gender gap is still pronounced, New York City women do fare better than the national average, where women make just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, according to the White House.
“I don’t know if people realize this. There is still discrimination, even among millennials,” Comptroller Scott Stringer told the New York Daily News, the publication given the study in advance of its wide release.
Stringer attributed the disparity later in life to motherhood.
“When you enter your childbearing years, and step out, it’s hard to come back in,” he said.
The study examined average paychecks of six common jobs in New York City and found that nearly all paid women less on average. Women working in accounting and auditing suffered particularly, earning just 69 cents to the male dollar. Men out-earned women even in elementary and middle school teaching, a field historically populated by women, where female teachers made just 83 cents to the dollar.
Jane Timm