Pay disparity report shows over $1M lifetime wage gap for women of color

Maryland women of color make $1 million less over the course of their careers when compared to white, non-Hispanic men, a report released Tuesday by the Maryland Department of Labor states.

“It is said sunlight is the best disinfectant,” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, a Democrat and the first woman of color to hold her position, said Tuesday. “We are about to pour a whole lot of sunlight on that gender pay gap.”

The Department of Labor issued its 2024 pay disparity report on Equal Pay Day, which Portia Wu, the agency’s secretary, said “symbolizes how much more a woman has to work into the next year to make the same amount as a man last year.”

By Wu’s metric, women have to work 437 days to earn what men make annually.

According to data from 2018 to 2022 collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, women nationally make 82 cents for every dollar a non-Hispanic white man makes. Women in Maryland fare better, making 86 cents on the dollar.

Wu said Tuesday morning that there are many contributing factors to the pay disparity.

More often than men, women tend to work in low-paying industries, like the service sector, home health care, food service and retail. They also often struggle to negotiate pay raises, and don’t receive the same training and education opportunities, Wu said.

“Women can’t advocate for themselves — they can’t shoot to match their male counterparts — if they don’t even know the target they’re aiming for,” the secretary said.

The wage gap grows when race is factored in.

The report demonstrated that Black women have a lifetime wage gap of $1.1 million based on median earnings for full-time, yearround careers over a 40-year period when compared to non-Hispanic white men. The lifetime wage gap for American Indian or Alaska native women is $1.6 million.

White women see a lifetime wage gap of $750,000, and Asian women will make $500,000 less over the course of their careers.

Latina women make a staggering $1.8 million less.

“That’s a lot of money,” said Dr. Gabriela Lemus, the executive director of Maryland Latinos Unidos. “That’s a lot of money that can make an enormous difference over a Latina’s lifetime, her family’s, and her ability … to retire with dignity.”

Sen. Ariana Kelly of Montgomery County and Del. Jennifer White Holland from Baltimore County, both Democrats, are sponsoring legislation this session in an effort to address some of the glaring salary disparities.

House Bill 649 and Senate Bill 525 would require public and private sector employers to publish the minimum and maximum salary and benefits package when publishing notice for a job opening to applicants for public or internal positions.

If an employer neglects to publish pay ranges and benefits packages, they must be disclosed to applicants prior to salary negotiations. First violations of the legislation would result in a letter forcing employers to comply. Second offenses would require employers to pay $300 for each employee they neglected to disclose pay ranges and benefits packages to.

According to Kelly, New York, Illinois, Colorado, Hawaii, Washington state and California have similar policies. Legislatures in Massachusetts and Virginia have sent wage transparency bills to their governors for review, and Washington, D.C., is waiting for its legislation to be reviewed by Congress.

“This bill is truly a tool to address these disparities that we see, and to better position women of color and all of us to accrue wealth and to protect wealth for future generations,” White Holland said.

While Maryland has the fourth-smallest wage gap between men and women nationally, its rankings for women of color are generally poor. Black women make 67 cents on the dollar compared to white, non-Hispanic men. American Indian or Alaska native women make 56 cents and Latina women make 50 cents.

Asian women in Maryland have the smallest wage gap, making 86 cents for every dollar a white, non-Hispanic man makes. White women make 79 cents for every dollar.

Kelly’s bill received preliminary approval in the Senate chamber earlier this month. White Holland’s bill has yet to be voted out of the House Economic Matters Committee.

“Making change is hard,” said Wu. “It requires legislation. It requires labor. It requires lifting others up, and it also requires leadership.”