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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Idaho women lag far behind in pay equity

Anna Webb Idaho Statesman

Life isn’t advancing for all Idaho women, who still face some of the greatest gender-based pay inequities in the country.

Even in jobs with the federal, state or local government, Idaho men make more than women doing the same work. It’s true across the board, but in Idaho health care industries, Idaho men earn more than double what their female counterparts earn.

One in seven Idaho women and girls live below the poverty line (compared with about one in nine Idaho males).

And “when it comes to women in general, we really are significantly underrepresented as public policy makers,” said Margie Gonzalez, director of the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

Gov. Butch Otter hopes to start addressing some of these problems.

“The governor is supportive of women, and of seeing them do well,” said Tammy Perkins, Otter’s senior special assistant for health and social services. Perkins said she doesn’t know that the issues Idaho women face are very different from those of Idaho men.

“Making sure your kids are well-educated, keeping a job, making sure everyone’s fed and gets to school,” she said.

But those challenges are particularly difficult for people living in poverty.

In 2009, the Community Action Partnership network in Idaho served seven times more single-parent households headed by women than men, said community services coordinator Katy Kujawski.

The organization provides a range of services, from helping families find food and housing to helping them pay their power bill. The number of women seeking assistance increased by 27 percent between 2008 and 2009.

“Especially for low-income women, the disparity in income is a challenge,” Kujawski said.

Earlier this year, Rep. Anne Pasley-Stuart, D-Boise, introduced a bill that would have established an annual recognition of pay inequity. The bill died in the House State Affairs Committee.

“This was a feel-good bill. All it did was create a public awareness ‘equal pay’ day each year,” said Taryn Magrini, a former staffer at the Idaho Women’s Network, which closed this year after losing support from national funders.