New Hampshire women now earn 76 cents for every one dollar New Hampshire men earn — or 24% less than men — on average when comparing full-time workers, according to an Oct. 28 report from the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation.
The national average in 2023 was 82.7 cents, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. The 2023 U.S Census Bureau American Community Survey showed that New Hampshire ranks 46 in pay equality out of all 50 states. Nearby states Vermont and New York place among the top at 2 and 3, respectively.
The gender pay gap varies among women of different demographics. For example, for every one dollar a man earns, women who have children in their household earn 69 cents and those who do not have children in their household earn 82 cents. Wages also vary by race. Asian and white women earn 88% and 79% of white men’s wages, respectively — more than African American and Native American women, who earn 64% and 52%, respectively. Women who identified as multiracial or “other” earn 71%.
Data for the foundation’s biennial report was collected from public reports, individual data requests from state agencies and departments, the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey and other other state, national and academic sources.
Professors who research gender in society said these findings about the wage gap are determined by other educational and occupational differences.
Government professor Anna Mahoney, who researches gendered institutions and representation, said women have less access to some high-paying jobs.
“Some more lucrative trade jobs like plumbing or electrician or construction, they might be higher paying, but there might be less access for women to those fields, and so sometimes that can drive a gender wage gap as well,” Mahoney said.
Whereas that gap was previously based on women lacking work and educational experience, these are no longer as prevalent, sociology professor Kristin Smith said.
“Women aren’t stepping out of the labor force like they used to be, and so women are gaining education levels equitable to men as well,” she explained. Instead, the devaluation of women’s work continues to contribute to the gender wage gap. Mothers also often have to “balance being a mother and being in the workforce,” causing many women to “gravitate towards” low-wage occupations, Smith said.
The high cost of childcare in New Hampshire also impacts women’s wages, according to the report, because women are disproportionately responsible for the cost of childcare. The yearly median childcare cost in New Hampshire is $21,593 for infants — 45% of the average single mother’s annual income. For married couples, this is only 13% of the average income.
Economics professor Claudia Olivetti, who teaches ECON 37: “Gender and Family Issues in Modern Economics,” said childcare costs are “a real constraint” for low-income or single-parent families.
Mahoney explained childcare access “perpetrates occupational segregation” of men and women. She pointed out that women are often burdened with caring for children and elderly.
“They can’t enter the workforce,” she said.
Smith said that these challenges can be alleviated through benefits such as paid family medical leave and policies “helping with childcare costs.”
The report also included data on women’s physical and mental health.
Fifty-four percent of women in N.H. have anxiety compared to 40% of men, according to the report. Women account for 67% of emergency department hospitalizations and 64% of inpatient hospitalizations for suicide or self-harm.
Another section of the study describes the current presence of women in state and local policymaking.
Only 36% of state legislators are women, which means the state “falls behind other surrounding New England states in women’s representation,” according to the study. Forty-three percent of Vermont’s and 42% of Maine’s state legislators are women.
At the local level, 57% of people with positions on the school board are women, but women are only 8% of mayors and 28% of city council members. Thirty-nine percent of towns do not have any women on their selectboards.
Director of Policy for the N.H. Women’s Foundation Devan Quinn said in an interview with The Dartmouth that these gender dynamics in government influences policies.
“When women are elected, regardless of party, they’re more likely to support policies that benefit women and girls,” Quinn said.
Mahoney said that there are limitations within the political system that bar women in power from actually making these changes.
“Although women may attain and wield political power, they do so within political institutions, and that can sometimes constrain their capacity to make an impact,” she said. “It’s not just women’s presence that matters; it’s their presence and their access to power within these institutions.”
