“If she succeeds, we all succeed”–addressing the Wyoming wage gap

by Lauren Furtney, Cowboy State Free Press Reporter

CHEYENNE-”Our belief is that what is good for Wyoming’s women and children is good for Wyoming’s communities,” says the Wyoming Women’s Foundation (WYWF).

In conjunction with Equal Pay Day on April 20th, the wage gap for Wyoming women has drawn much attention. The pay gap shows that for every dollar men in Wyoming earn, women in the state earn only 63 cents, according to a 2007 U.S. Census Bureau report.

“But what can be done to change this?” you might ask.

“The economic self-sufficiency of women” through education and empowerment are some of the goals of WYWF, said Richelle Keinath, the Executive Director.

The foundation was established in 1999 from a challenge grant to develop a permanent resource for women and girls in Wyoming. Since that time it has acted as the only statewide fund focused on this issue, according to WYWF. For nearly ten years, it has built a permanent endowment from which WYWF provides grants to organizations in the state that benefit Wyoming’s women and girls.

“We have been working on wage negotiating since the spring of 2008,” Keinath said.

The wage gap is a multifaceted issue that requires changes in three key areas, she said. These are “changes in policy and legislation, changes in businesses and business practices, and changes at the individual level.”

“Wage Disparity Workshops” have been a series of events around the state that have taught more than 150 women about Wyoming’s wage gap issues and ways to address them, according to WYWF. During workshops, women are taught how to gauge their own value in a chosen field, how to compare competitive wages, and how to negotiate for better pay and working conditions, said Keinath.

While Wyoming’s wage gap has drawn a lot of attention, questions about the comparison of men’s and women’s jobs in the state have been raised.

Arguments against using the wage gap data as evidence of inequalities say that the jobs men are performing in Wyoming are often in high-risk fields that pay more, such as labor work in mining and natural resources.

This is a challenging issue to study and compare, said Keinath.

Dr. Catherine Connolly of the University of Wyoming wrote, “In Wyoming, jobs that employ primarily men, not only in mining, pay at or above the prevailing national wage” to the Casper Star Tribune in 2008. “Construction, manufacturing, utilities, wholesale trade, (and) transportation” are among these, she wrote.

On the other hand, “Jobs in health and social services, retail trade, education, and leisure and hospitality industries employ primarily women and often pay significantly below national norms,” Dr. Connolly said.

There is still some work to be done on studying the wage gap, Keinath said.

“We do not want to make it a divisive issue between men and women,” she emphasized, “but make it a family issue.”

She explained that when the economy went downhill, men’s jobs were often the ones to be cut in the state.

Dr. Wenlin Liu, the senior economist at the state’s Division of Economic Analysis told the Casper Star Tribune in 2009 that jobs in construction, trade, transportation, and utilities, as well as professional and business services and leisure and hospitality, had the most apparent unemployment rates in the state.

As a result, many families were depending solely on women’s wages, Keinath said. When women’s wages are not sufficient, the whole family suffers.

This is why educating people, not just women but business owners and policy-makers about wage issues is a focus of the WYWF. The wage projects and workshops are open to both women and men, said Keinath.

Along with the wage workshops, WYWF has also advocated for the Equality Initiative’s “If she succeeds, we all succeed” campaign to raise awareness of women’s issues in Wyoming, said Keinath.

Childcare is another area WYWC has focused on as it directly affects women’s opportunities in the workplace, she said.

“Childcare impacts Wyoming’s economy because it limits women’s work,” said Keinath, as she explained the need for more quality childcare facilities across the state.

Keinath emphasized that these are community issues that affects all of Wyoming’s economy and well-being.