Posted In: Rhode Island, Uncategorized

Tags: #1u, NEARI, poverty, Rhode Island, teachers, Union, Wage gap, Women

A new report from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training shows Rhode Island going in the wrong direction on a key indicator of social justice – the wage gap between men and women. The report titled “Women’s Earnings in the Ocean State 1998-2010” shows  from 2009 to 2010, working women saw their earnings drop when compared to male counter parts from 77.8% to 75.3%.  The report goes on to say:

However, between 2007 and 2010, Rhode Island women saw their earnings fall in comparison to their male counterparts by 8.6 percentage points, from 83.9 in 2007 to 75.3 in 2010, the largest decrease in the nation during this period. Nationally, the female-to-male earnings ratio improved by 1.0 percentage point during this period, from 80.2 percent in 2007 to 81.2 percent in 2010.

The report makes no direct associations as to why the wage gap began to move in the wrong direction in the later part of the last decade.  Could the attack on the wages of educators, as was witnessed in East Providence and other communities across state played a role?  For twelve years in a row Rhode Island was making progress in closing the wage gap between men and women, only to see progress stop when a profession comprised of a majority of women workers see their wages and benefits slashed in the name of austerity and tax cuts for the elite.

You can read the full report on the Rhode Island DLT website by linking HERE.

For more information about the economic health of women in Rhode Island, check out this report from the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island.