Women's pay in New York is still less than men, state comptroller report says

Gender equity in the workplace has stalled after decades of progress, concludes a report released Monday by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Women in New York made just over 87 cents on the dollar compared with men in 2023, the report said, noting that the pandemic set female participation in the workforce back more than three decades, with the greatest setbacks among women of color and in low-wage jobs.

In 2023, the median salary for women in the state, $62,111, was nearly $10,000 less than the median salary for men that year, the report said. To catch up, women would need to work an extra 53 days. 

Although women in New York still have a way to go before closing the pay gap, the wage disparity is smaller than the national average of 81 cents on the dollar in 2023, the report said. The state ranked fourth best in the country for pay equity that year.

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The report also found that while the pay gap generally narrows as education increases, the highest wage disparity is in the legal field, where women in 2023 made a median salary of $113,699 compared with $166,678 for men.

Reasons for the continued gap could be partially chalked up to family caretaking, meaning the role of women in caring for children and other family members, especially with the low availability and high cost of child care in the state, the report said.

"Research shows that the reasons behind the pay gap are complex; some have to do with the hours worked and careers selected by women, who often serve as the primary caregivers for children," said Matt Ryan, a spokesman for the comptroller.

Investing in policies such as affordable child care and paid leave could help narrow the wage gap, he said. 

Even if recent progress seems to have stalled, though, a look at long-term data still shows significant progress, and "actually if you look among young adults, the gender gap actually has gotten quite small," said Julia Bear, a professor of organizational behavior at Stony Brook University’s College of Business. 

The biggest jump in the gender wage gap tends to be around 35, she said, adding that a big part of it has to do with family and caregiving responsibilities. 

Wage gaps also tend to vary by industry, especially in client-focused work such as finance and law where earnings tend to be very high, she said. There are also fewer women in those professions. 

"I think the problem is," she said, "once you've made a certain amount of progress, making those marginal increases becomes harder and harder."

Companies have made "substantial progress" toward pay equity in recent years, said Brian Levine, a labor analyst and partner at Merit Analytics Group.

More could be done, though, he added, such as creating environments that make both women and men feel comfortable taking paid leave. 

Companies could also engage in regular proactive pay reviews and ensure equitable access to high-paying roles, Levine said. His research has shown that organizations with regular focus on pay equity review tend to have better recruitment and retention.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.