Most of the employment news stories that our readers see these days address sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. However, there are plenty of other concerns as well, including the persistent issue of the gap in pay between male and female employees. As our readers may know, female workers in all types of employment roles are consistently paid less than their male counterparts. And, unfortunately, the problem is worse in Minnesota than it is in many other states.
Minnesota ranks 29th among all states and the District of Columbia when it comes to the wage gap between male and female employees, meaning that there are 28 other states, including the District of Columbia, that do a better job of ensuring equal pay for equal work. Florida is the ranked first, with a gap between pay of nearly $6,800. Wyoming was last, with a gap of over $19,400. At 29th, Minnesota has a reported wage gap of just over $12,600.
There is a wide variety of reasons for why the wage gap issue continues to be an employment law concern decades after the increase in the number of women in the workplace jumped. Today, there are more women in the workforce than there ever has been, but apparently employers still are not doing a good enough job of ensuring that female employees earn as much as male employees.
The reality is that this type of disparity in pay between the sexes is tantamount to gender discrimination. Under the applicable employment laws, men and women who possess similar skills and experience and who perform substantially the same job are supposed to be paid equal wages.
