Rural Alaska

Gender earnings gap shrinks in Western Alaska

The latest issue of Alaska Economic Trends suggests that much of rural Alaska is a good place to be a female if you're interested in decent paying jobs.

The report found that women since 1988 have shrunk the gender earnings gap in Alaska, if ever so slowly.

The report cover features turn-of-the-century photos, from 1903, of a traditional Eskimo man and woman. Things have surely improved since then, though the report doesn't go back that far. It does say that women working in Alaska last year earned 67 cents for every dollar earned by a man. That's a nickel better than it was in 1988, when the earnings gap was first measured. But the gap was half a cent smaller in 2004.

The study found that men beat women throughout the state, but women's earnings are closer to men's in Western Alaska. The earnings are almost equal in the Southwest regions of Dillingham and Bethel, where local government is the largest employer. Women in Bethel earned 94 percent of what men made, and the figure was 95 percent in Dillingham. Women's earnings also beat the state average in Southeast Alaska, but the North Slope, Prince William Sound and Kenai areas weren't as kind to women's wages.

Other gems:

-- In 2010, the average Alaska woman earned $29,323. The average man earned $43,684.

-- The earnings gap is smallest among young workers. "The 55-to-59-year-old cohort also had the largest nominal disparity: men made $61,764, but women earned just $38,831 -- a $22,933 difference," the report notes.

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-- Women between ages 50-54 are the most valuable, averaging $39,545 a year. Men topped out in the 55-to-59 age group, raking in an average salary of $61,764.

-- Women top men in certain fields sometimes by a lot. "Female postsecondary nursing instructors and teachers, and obstetricians/gynecologists made more than double the pay of their male peers. Other occupations with higher average pay for women included dieticians and nutritionists, occupational therapy assistants, postsecondary health specialties teachers, and nurse midwives," the study said.

More information was available here.

Contact Alex DeMarban at alex(at)alaskadispatch.com

Alex DeMarban

Alex DeMarban is a longtime Alaska journalist who covers business, the oil and gas industries and general assignments. Reach him at 907-257-4317 or alex@adn.com.

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