Georgia women paid less than male colleagues, a loss of $25 billion a year

Georgia women working full-time jobs earn 81 cents for every dollar paid to the their male colleagues, amounting to an annual wage gap of $8,746.

That’s according to a recent study conducted by the National Partnership for Women & Families based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The findings were released Monday as part of a national Equal Pay Day, which will be observed Tuesday.

Georgia has the 29th largest cents-on-the dollar gap in the nation, according to the study. “That means Georgia women lose a combined total of more than $25 billion every year - money that could strengthen the state economy and is especially significant for the more than 548,000 Georgia households headed by women, 34 percent of which are in poverty,” according to information released by the organization.

If the wage gap were eliminated, a working woman in Georgia would have enough money for:

• More than 15 additional months of child care
• More than one year’s worth of food for her family
• Nearly seven more months of mortgage and utilities payments
• More than 9.5 additional months of rent
• More than 15 additional months of child care
• One additional year of tuition and fees for a four-year public university, or the full cost of tuition and fees at a two-year community college

“Equal Pay Day is a painful reminder that women in this country have had to work more than three months into this year just to catch up with what men were paid last year,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership. “This analysis shows just how damaging that lost income can be for women and their families, as well as the economy and the businesses that depend on women’s purchasing power.”

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Georgia women paid less than male colleagues, a loss of $25 billion a year."