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Unless you’re a Republican strategist, you understand the sad reality that women in this country make less money than men.

There are a bunch of reasons for this, none of which make me feel any better about the world. There’s taking time off to raise kids, there’s entering fields that pay less, there’s being offered lower starting salaries, there’s being less likely to be promoted. Wonderful, wonderful things.

A new report out from the National Partnership for Women and Families puts a financial figure on the amount women are losing out on every year in each state. In Portland’s congressional district, women make 85 cents for every dollar men take home. That’s better than the rest of the state and better than the national average (which is 77 cents). But, uh, still not good.

Then along comes the New York Times this weekend with the super smart editorial, The Myth of Male Decline. The piece is a response to the recent spate of post-sexist-society books like The End of Men. Here is the key chart from the story. Even women in their twenties who have no kids make less than men who hold their same level of education.

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We’re not just paid less because we take off time from career work to have families. We’re paid less because people in charge of cutting paychecks systematically believe they can pay us less.

The article also gets major kudos for pointing out that it’s not just women who are hurt by gender bias: Men are also stigmatized in ways that affect them financially. Men who engage in traditionally female activities like taking time off from work for family reasons are viewed as “weak” and end up earning less money, saying the piece.

As it happens, the Oregon Council on Civil Rights is holding a forum tomorrow (pdf), hoping to hear stories from people—regardless of gender—who’ve experienced wage discrimination in the state. If you’ve ever been underpaid compared to your coworkers, the state wants to hear from you. The forum is at 3645 SE 32nd Avenue from 5:30 to 7:30 tomorrow night, so go give ’em your 15 cents worth.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

6 replies on “Yes, Women Make Less Money Than Men—Even in Portland, Even Without Kids”

  1. I love this column. Sarah Mirk for mayor.

    Wait: Have you ever hit a woman and shut up about it for 20 years, Smirk?

  3. You don’t make more than me honey…

    But seriously, $55,000 for an advanced degree…we must have a lot of English Majors in this town…

  4. In a highly competitive capitalist system, the question is : why are not employers slashing labor costs and hiring just women then?

  5. At my first job in journalism I was paid 25,000GBP and given the investment patch. Six years later I learned that the female features writer and marketing reporter hired at the same time were paid seven grand less, each, despite having almost identical job responsibilities.

  6. A law that forced employers to post salaries of all employees in a public location would help this a lot. We have this taboo about talking about how much we make. At my current company, it’s in the employee handbook that you’re not supposed to talk to coworkers about your salary. How is one supposed to know if their salary is subpar under these hush hush rules?

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