Gender Wage Equity

+1.5

In 2023, women's median wages rose 1.5% compared to men's, but remained about 85% of men's earnings.

No significant movement since the last available data

Benchmark: Maine’s median annual earnings for women will improve to 100% of men’s median annual earnings by 2030.

Overview Fig. A Fig. B

Overview

This measure compares the annual wages of men and women working full time, year round. In 2023, the median earnings of Maine females was $52,457—85% of the $61,430 median earnings of Maine males. In other words, for every $6 earned by Maine men, Maine women earned about $5, even though they were all working full time. Some of the difference is due to the differing wages in occupations disproportionately filled by women, but this does not explain the entire gap. In recent years, women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s in Maine have improved, from 76% in the 2000s to 81% in the 2010s.

In 2023, Maine’s gender income gap was between the U.S. and New England averages. No U.S. state has eliminated the gender pay gap yet, but in eight states women’s earnings ratio exceeds Maine’s. Rhode Island had the smallest gender wage gap. There, women earned 89% as much as men in 2023.

Fig. A

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Women's Earnings as Percentage of Men's

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Fig. B

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Median Earnings Gap in 2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau