How Do Women’s Wages Stack Up In SE Minnesota?

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has issued a press release on how women's wages stack up versus male wages. Minnesota currently ranks 12th in the nation with an earnings ratio for men and women at 83%. This means women are being paid 83% of what their male counterparts are earning for full-time, year-round employment.

However data from DEED shows women in Southeastern Minnesota are faring better than the nation and also better than Minnesota as a state. The gender pay ratio in Southeastern Minnesota is 89.1% compared to the state as a whole at 84.4%. Median hourly wages in our part of the state stand at $19.81 for men and $17.66 for women.

A few sidelights of interest contained in the report shows that women are working fewer hours than men. The latest report shows women worked across all industries at 407 hours per quarter in 2016. Men worked 480 hours. Couple the hours worked along with the lower wage and women in this particular scenario earned almost $9,300 less annually.

The report also gives an example of the types of careers and the wage differences between the sexes. For example the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training shows that of the 10,918 peace officers in Minnesota, 88.3% are men. The Minnesota Department of Health shows that about 88$ of licensed social workers are women.  When you compare the wages of the two groups, police officers earned a median wage of $28.36 per hour while social workers totaled $22.12 per hour for median wage. So the type of work also plays a role in women versus men when it comes to wages.

Did you hear that a Southern Minnesota grad has received an NFL contract? Read more here.