5. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
> Women’s pay as pct. of men’s: 71.8%
> Median income for men: $70,605
> Median income for women: $50,714
The Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metropolitan area is one of the wealthiest areas in the country, with a median household income of $74,831. The national average is $50,046. Disparity, however, affects the wealthy just as much and women in the area earn just 71.8% of what men do, on average. The area’s largest employment sector is health care, with Bridgeport Hospital and St. Vincent Medical Center the two largest employers in the city of Bridgeport. Although there are many more women than men in the health care and social assistance sector, men’s salaries are significantly higher. Bridgeport is also a major center for investment management companies. UBS employs 4,000 people in Stamford — the largest amount in the region. The finance sector is the absolute worst industry when it comes to income inequality between the genders.
4. Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
> Women’s pay as pct. of men’s: 70.6%
> Median income for men: $46,648
> Median income for women: $32,926
According to the Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau, the largest industries in Augusta are health care, the military and manufacturing. The top employers in the city are the nuclear reservation Savannah River Site, the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, and the Medical College of Georgia. Manufacturing and health care both sway heavily towards paying men more than women.
Also Read: America’s Happiest States
3. Toledo, OH
> Women’s pay as pct. of men’s: 70.0%
> Median income for men: $49,739
> Median income for women: $34,817
Among the Toledo metropolitan area’s largest employers are ProMedica Health Services, Mercy Health Partners, and Chrysler Holdings, which built its Toledo Assembly Complex in the city. The city’s largest industries are manufacturing, health services, and education. These industries, as a whole, fail to provide women pay equality. In the Toledo metropolitan area, women earn 70% of what men do.
2. Ogden-Clearfield, UT
> Women’s pay as pct. of men’s: 64.4%
> Median income for men: $51,766
> Median income for women: $33,331
The metropolitan statistical area of Ogden-Clearfield, UT, is the second-worst in the country for gender pay inequality. Government, education, and manufacturing are the metropolitan area’s largest industries. Public administration and manufacturing are both highly imbalanced sectors when it comes to gender pay equality. The city of Ogden’s largest employers are the Department of Treasury, Weber State University, automotive safety product manufacturer Autoliv, and McKay Dee Hospital. Utah, on the whole, performs poorly compared to other states with regards to equal pay, ranking third-worst in the country.
1. Baton Rouge, LA
> Women’s pay as pct. of men’s: 63.4%
> Median income for men: $51,103
> Median income for women: $32,385
On average, a full-time working woman doesn’t even earn two thirds of what her male counterpart earns in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area. According to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, the city’s largest employers are industrial construction company Turner Industries, the Louisiana State University System, engineering, procurement, and construction conglomerate Shaw Group, and industrial contractor Performance Contractors. Although LSU is an outlier, the other companies paint a picture of an industrial-leaning economy, which operates primarily in construction and the manufacturing of durable goods — two sectors with some of the worst gaps in pay between men and women. The state of Louisiana also has the greatest pay disparity in the country, with women earning 67.2% of what men do in the entire state.
Ashley C. Allen, Charles B. Stockdale
