Gender Gap: Oregon Women Making Less Regardless of Education

A new study shows Oregon women make considerably less than their male counterparts.

And it doesn't matter how educated the woman is.

And it gets even worse if the woman is a woman of color.

Those are just some of the results from a new study by the non-partisan Oregon Center for Public Policy.

"Oregon women deserve equal pay for equal work, but they are not getting it," said Tyler Mac Innis, an analyst with the Center. "The well-being of families and simple fairness call out for lawmakers to address pay inequality."

The study shows Oregon women earn 82 cents on the dollar compared to what men earn.

The gap grows greater for women of color.

For every dollar earned by a man in Oregon:

Asian American women earn 75 cents;

African American women earn 70 cents;

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women earn 66 cents;

Native American women earn 62 cents; and

Latinas earn 51 cents.

The study concluded that it doesn't make a difference how much education the woman has.

Researches found that the typical Oregon man 25-year-old and older earns less than her male counterpart.

"The typical Oregon woman with a graduate or professional degree earned 8.4 percent less typical Oregon man with just a bachelor's degree," the study found.

The study found the gap is exacerbated by the fact that men dominate the fields with the highest paying positions: men hold 87 percent of architecture and engineering jobs; 88 percent of law enforcement jobs, and 80 percent of the positions in the fields of computer and mathematics.