Louisiana women who were full-time and salaried workers in 2013 earned a weekly average of $591—or just 73.1% of the $808 median weekly earnings of their male counterparts, according to a report released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Though the gender pay gap remained wide in 2013—Louisiana had the nation’s second lowest female-to-male earnings ratio in the country—the report shows women in the state made some progress in 2013, with the gap narrowing by 1.1% from the previous year.
Still, Louisiana lagged far behind the national average on the gender pay gap. Across the U.S., women earned an average of $706 per week, or 82.1% of the $860 weekly median for American men.
In no state did women earn as much as their male counterparts in 2013. Vermont had the highest female-to-male earnings ratio during the year at 91.3%, while Wyoming had the lowest at 68.6%. Though Wyoming had a lower ratio than Louisiana, the Bayou State had the uneviable distinction of being home to the nation’s lowest average weekly wage for women in 2013, the report shows (Mississippi was only $2 behind, at $593 per week for women).
Louisiana reached its highest female-to-male earnings ratio in 2005, when women earned 75% as much as men working the same job. That ratio declined to a recent low of 65% in 2009 and has been slowly climbing back up since then. See the complete report. —Steve Sanoski
