Via: Houston Public Media
By: Patricia Ortiz
The median weekly pay for Texas men in 2022 was about $1,1103 in contrast to Texas women, who made around $916 a week in the same year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on women’s earnings in Texas on Monday. Alyssa Leibold is a staff economist from […]
The median weekly pay for Texas men in 2022 was about $1,1103 in contrast to Texas women, who made around $916 a week in the same year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on women’s earnings in Texas on Monday.
Alyssa Leibold is a staff economist from the Southwest Information Office of the bureau. She said this means Texas women currently make 83% of what Texas men make.
“It’s actually comparable to the [national percentage], so can’t really say we’re doing better or worse,” she said. The national average for 2022 was also 83%.
According to the bureau, the pay gap in Texas was at its highest in 2001 at 78.3%. The gap was at its lowest in 2020 at 87%.
Leibold said she believes the pandemic may have artificially lessened the gap during the pandemic, and might be the reason why the gap has increased in the past two years. She said many employees who were laid off during the pandemic were in industries with more women, like hospitality.
“What can happen is if these women that were making lower wagers were no longer working, it actually could bump up that median wage of women relative to men,” she said.
Hattie Hill is a Board Member and Executive in Residence at the Texas Women’s Foundation. The foundation works to support women, families, and communities to build a stronger, more equitable Texas. Hill agreed that the pandemic greatly affected working women. She also added that women are more often expected to leave the workplace to care for their children.
“[Women] have been disproportionately impacted by COVID due to childcare closures during the pandemic, causing many to leave the workplace in order to care for home and family,” she said.
Hill said that in order to lessen the pay gap, she believes there should be policies put in place to support women in the workforce.
“We must respect and value the role of caregiving by creating more policies that support women that are primary breadwinners and caregivers in their households,” Hill said. “… and sponsor more women in leadership development and training to retain and advance them in leadership roles.”