Gender pay gap worst in Louisiana, varies by industry

Comments made Thursday by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella that women should simply trust the corporate system to advance in the workplace have been criticized, but have also drawn attention to what some call the nation’s gender pay gap, The Associated Press reports. Louisiana women have the largest gap in what they make compared to their male peers—only about two thirds of what men are paid, according to the report. The kinds of jobs that are available could have an influence on the gap. High-paying jobs in oil and gas industries are held mostly by men, the report notes. According to the report, women across the nation may be more likely to see equal pay in jobs that require high-level degrees. But women in the computer technology industry, for example, earn an average of $6,358 a year less than men, factoring in education, age, region and occupation differences, according to the report. That gap can reach $11,247 a year for women with children. In the financial services industry, women earn $14,067 a year less than men. Female engineering majors earn an average of 88% of the salaries made by their male peers, while female majors in computer and information sciences earn 77%. According to the report, men are eight times more likely than women to negotiate their salaries when taking a job. On average, women in the U.S. working full time were paid 78 cents for every dollar that men earned in 2013. Read the full story.