Nevada’s 2024 Gender Wage Gap Better Than Most Other States
As a working woman in Nevada, it’s hard to hear that the gender wage gap is still alive and well in 2024. But that’s the reality. The good news, though, is…
Even in 2024, a man and woman don’t earn the same pay for the same work. Career fields, ethnicity and state are all factors in the width of the gap.
Olha Romaniuk via Getty ImagesAs a working woman in Nevada, it's hard to hear that the gender wage gap is still alive and well in 2024. But that's the reality. The good news, though, is twofold. The nationwide gender wage gap is smaller than it was a year ago. And the gap is lower in Nevada than most other states in the country.
The 2024 Gender Wage Gap Compared To 2023
In March of 2023, women were earning 77 cents for every dollar that a white man made, 19thnews.org reported. This year, a study by Market Watch indicates that the gap has gotten a little narrower. With women earning 82 cents for every dollar that a white man in the same position makes.
Women Require More Education For The Same Pay
While the shrinking of the gender wage gap is a good thing, there are still factors that would still make "equal pay" not technically equal. This is due to the education that the average man and woman bring to the workplace. The U.S. Department of Labor blog reported last March that, on average, women in the workforce have more education and are more likely to complete an Associate's, Bachelor's or Masters degree than a man. They go on to say that "women must complete one additional degree in order to be paid the same wages as a man with less education."
Cue the facepalm emoji.
While the gender pay gap in Nevada is still very much present in 2024, it's actually smaller than in most other states in the country.
As a working woman in Nevada who also has student loan debt, this is incredibly frustrating. This study suggests that I, a college graduate with a Bachelor's Degree, am getting paid less than a man in the same position with the same degree. And that my pay might be on par with a man in the same position who only has an Associate's Degree.
If all things are equal and I spend and save the same way my hypothetical male counterpart does, he'll pay off his student loan far earlier than I. Which leads to another point that Market Watch made in their recent study. They reported that experts suggest women have to earn an extra life skill to improve their financial positions. They said that women need to "enhance their financial literacy by learning about tools such as high-yield savings accounts and CDs in order to move forward".
It isn't bad advice for anyone to gain such money-saving prowess. But, with the current status of the gender wage gap in our country, it's a bonus for a man to have this skill. While more a necessity for women.
Gender Wage Gap Is Wider For Black Or Hispanic Women
And while this is all frustrating to me, I am still a white woman in the workplace. The gender wage gap is even worse for black or Hispanic women. In 2022, pewresearch.org reported that black women were making 70% of their white male counterpart's pay. And Hispanic women, per the same study, were making 63% of their white male counterpart's pay.
The question is, why? There is no logical reason behind this unequal pay. So why is it still happening? The same Department of Labor blog suggested that the reason is partly because of what jobs many women are willing to take that many men aren't. That women are more likely than men to take jobs that are lower paying and that have fewer benefits. Is this an example of women taking what they can get in what has traditionally been "a man's world"?
The study done by Market Watch reports that career types also serve as a factor for gender wage gaps. While jobs in the legal profession have the largest wage gap, those in the community and social services have the smallest. And it was suggested that women are more likely to take a job in social services, or any other career that involves caretaking.
The 2024 Gender Wage Gap In Nevada Compared To Other States
While the gap is still very much present in Nevada this year, we are actually doing pretty well compared to other states. The study done by Market Watch ranked the Silver State as having the fifth smallest gender wage gap in the country.
Related: Local Nonprofit Helping Las Vegas Women Get Back Into The Workplace
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Market Watch determined that the wage gap between men and women in Nevada is currently 15.46%. That puts us behind only New York, California, Vermont and Puerto Rico. Which have a current wage gap of 14.23%, 13.34%, 11.97% and -2.47%, respectively. Puerto Rico is the only place in the country where women actually earn more than their male counterparts, according to marketwatch.com.
There is something that makes the gender wage gap in Nevada even more discouraging. The Badger Institute recently took data from the 2022 U.S. Census Bureau regarding single-parent households. And they reported that in 2022, Nevada had 20,003 single fathers who were providing for children under 18. The same year in Nevada saw 60,736 households run by single mothers. So even though there are more women in Nevada than men who are singlehandedly running a household, they're typically doing in on a smaller paycheck.
Yes, the gender wage gap in Nevada is getting better every year and is better than most other states. But it's still a head-scratcher that the gap still exists at all, over 60 years after the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed.
Waiting On The World To Change Might Not Be The Answer
I don't earn anywhere near what we recently reported to be the ideal salary for Las Vegas living. Still, any time I've been paid less than a man in my current position isn't because I'm a woman. It's because I didn't know, or fight for, what I was worth. Now, ten years after my hire date, I know I've proven myself to be a valuable asset. And have been able to negotiate a salary that is befitting my worth in the company.
So maybe the gender wage gap exists not because employers don't see a woman's worth in the workplace. Perhaps it's that we don't see our own.
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Girl Power! 5 Most Powerful Women In Las Vegas
Grow up in a certain era or watch enough Mad Men, you may think women have "their place". The secretary, the homemaker, the mom. Well, this isn't your grandpa's world. This isn't a television show. Women in Las Vegas are powerful and successful. Their place? In the boardrooms and at the head of some of the most powerful desks in Las Vegas and beyond.
Powerful Women Have Long Been A Part Of The Fabric Of Las Vegas
The valley has always had powerful women. Anne Henrietta Martin led the women's suffrage movement in Nevada. Her hard work led to Nevada giving women the right to vote six years before the nation passed the 19th amendment. She was also the first woman to ever run for the United States Senate.
Maude Frazier moved to Las Vegas in 1906 to serve as a teacher. She then became a principal and then the Superintendent of the now Clark County School District. She went on to help establish UNLV, then become a state assemblywoman and served as the 22nd ever Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, the first woman to hold the position.
Even women like Patsy Cline, who was the first female country artist to ever headline in Las Vegas or Anna Bailey who was the first black showgirl in the history of the city.
Heck the city itself was birthed thanks in part to Helen Stewart. She ran the Old Mormon Fort which is really the spark that led to the founding of Las Vegas. Her work inevitably led to Las Vegas becoming a population hub that we see today, which is why she is known as "the first lady of Las Vegas."
The number of powerful women that have left their mark on Las Vegas is far too long to list, but we have done our best to boil it down to five of the most powerful women of the moment in our city.
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman
Mayor Carolyn Goodman has served as the Mayor of Las Vegas since 2011.
It goes without saying that Mayor Carolyn Goodman has made her mark on the city. After her husband Oscar met his term limit in 2011, the city decided they wanted the leadership of Carolyn who, in turn, has reached her term limit. She is the founder of highly regarded The Meadows School. Her hard work to try to bring professional sports to Las Vegas during her term has absolutely bore fruit. While many of the pro teams we associate with the city fall outside of her jurisdiction, there is no question that her full-throated support of the concept has helped make the valley the hotbed of professional sports that we see today.
Sandra Douglass Morgan, President Of Las Vegas Raiders
Sandra Douglass Morgan is only the third female ever to serve as an NFL team president.
Speaking of women and professional sports in Las Vegas, there are several to choose from. Las Vegas Aces A'ja Wilson and coach Becky Hammon would be amazing picks, but we gotta give the nod to Las Vegas Raiders president Sandra Douglass Morgan. She is the first ever Black woman, and Asian woman, to ever serve as president of an NFL franchise. Before taking the mantle at the head of the Silver & Black table, she served as an attorney for The Mirage, the city of North Las Vegas and headed the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Plus, she is Las Vegas born and raised!
Miriam Adelson
As one of the richest people on the planet, Miriam Adelson has made sure to affect change wherever she can for organizations and causes she cares about.
When you hear the last name Adelson, you are unquestionably thinking powerful. Miriam Adelson holds a lot of power as one of the richest people on the planet (ranked 42nd in the world from Bloomberg). Not only locally but internationally as well. She has used her fortune from ownership of Las Vegas Sands to gain favor in Washington DC, support her birthplace of Israel, and most recently buy the Dallas Mavericks from fellow billionaire Mark Cuban.
Judge Mary Kay Holthus
While Department XVIII Judge Mary Kay Holthus recently made headlines for being on the wrong end of a madman's leap in court, she has been a legal powerhouse in the valley for many years. She served in the Clark County District Attorney's office for 27 years before making the jump to behind the bench in 2019. She now finds herself presiding over important cases in our community, and will soon be overseeing the case of the "fake electors" case. Plus UFC President Dana White thinks she's pretty tough.
Restaurant Entrepreneur Elizabeth Blau
Elizabeth Blau has been one of the driving forces in revolutionizing Las Vegas dining.
If you have had a great meal in Las Vegas, chances are you've eaten at one of Elizabeth Blau's restaurants. From Honey Salt to Buddy V's Ristorante to the former (and very missed) Andiron in Downtown Summerlin, Elizabeth's eye for culinary excellence has made her an international star. She helped bring Le Cirque to Bellagio, oversaw dining at the Wynn, and has several restaurants in Las Vegas, Vancouver BC and beyond. She has been a driving force from making Las Vegas the "cheap shrimp cocktail" place to one of the top dining destinations in the world.
