Lt. Governor Denish releases new wage-gap analysis;
women and ethnic groups still lag behind

Albuquerque – Lt. Governor Diane Denish today – National Pay Equity Day -- announced the results of a new, county-by-county wage study that shows women continue to earn less than men in every corner of the state. In addition, both men and women of ethnicity lag dramatically behind their peers.

The worst inequity occurred in Los Alamos County, the wealthiest part of the state, where women earned just 57 percent of what men earned. The narrowest gap was in Santa Fe County, which narrowed its standing from 83 percent in 1999 to 91 percent in 2006.

“This isn’t just a women’s issue,” Lt. Governor Denish said.
“This is a family issue and a taxpayer issue. When people are paid fairly, they are much less likely to rely on public programs to help them get by. Every one should be concerned.”

The Southwest Women’s Law Center compiled the data, which was largely based on 2000 Census figures. The more recent, 2006 data was only available for seven counties. Full details are available at the center’s Web site, www.swwomenslaw.org.

White and Asian women fared better than other ethnicities at 70 percent and 79 percent, respectively. But the gap for African-American, Native American and Hispanic men and women fell as low as 53 percent for Hispanic women and 63 percent for Native American men.

"We have known about this gender gap for years and some of it is a result of discrimination,” said Jane Wishner, Executive Director of the Southwest Women’s Law Center. “Private employers can develop plans for eliminating wage disparities and the State can lead the way through its own employment practices and contracting policies to ensure that women and minority workers throughout the state earn equal pay for equal work."

Lt. Governor Denish outlined three recommendations for improvement. She is asking the governor to revisit the 2003 Pay Equity Task Force study, assess where we stand and which of its recommendations should be tackled. She called on the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women to create a “Good Employers” award to honor employers who do right by their workers. And she urged the state’s procurement office to make a pay-equity plan one of the factors in awarding state contracts.

The announcement was made at Albuquerque’s Frontier Restaurant, where owners Larry and Dorothy Rainosek were lauded for their good-employment practices by the Lt. Governor and Martha Burk, a co-founder of Ms. Magazine and its Money Editor.

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