Maine women continue to earn less than men, according to a new report from the Cutler Institute of Health and Social Policy.
The report finds that wage disparities have grown worse in recent years. In 2018, women's full time weekly earnings were 87% of men's. In 2020, that dropped to 76%.
When examining annual median incomes, the report found the wage disparity between women and men in 2019 and 2020 was more than $10,000 a year.
"The disparity is pretty substantial," says Kim Snow, one of the authors of the study. "If you just imagine a woman making $10,000 less than a man for 10 years, that will have resulted in that woman having had $100,000 less to meet her needs over that period of time."
The cumulative effect of that disparity is that at least half of older Maine women who live alone struggle to afford basic needs and are unable to pay for support services.
"This report really shows that the economic disparities women face over a lifetime add up to poverty or near poverty for too many in later life," says Jess Maurer of the Maine Council on Aging. The Council commissioned the report, along with the Maine Women's Lobby.
Maurer is urging policymakers to address gender-based wage discrimination, to better compensate professional caregivers, and improve long-term care systems. According to the report, women are more likely than men to provide - and ultimately need - long term care.
