SALT LAKE CITY — Men earn an average of 30 percent more money than women in Utah, according to a study by business.org, a Utah organization that helps small business owners.
The study used an aggregate of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the University of Iowa.
"Unfortunately, despite attempts to increase the number of loans for women-owned businesses and initiatives to equalize pay across the genders, we still have a significant national gap of 18%. That means women make 18% less in their yearly earnings than men," a posting on business.org's website says.
According to the study, the only state with a larger pay gap than Utah is Wyoming, which has a 35 percent gender pay gap. Vermont has the smallest gender pay gap (nine percent) and there is no state where women earn a higher average salary than men.
The reasons listed for gender pay gaps 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
Click here for further details from business.org.
