LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The gender pay gap has grown during the pandemic.
Women in Nevada are earning on average about 16% less than men according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics.
On this Equal Pay Day, 13 Action News anchor Tricia Kean shows you why the gap is growing and the efforts to erase it.
On average a woman in Nevada make 84 cents to every dollar a man makes.
Jasmine Tucker is the Director of Research at the National Women's Law Center and she says women are being shortchanged in the workplace.
Those nickels and dimes are adding up.
According to Bank of America, women may earn $1 million less than men by retirement age if you combine the pay gap with work force interruptions like parenting and caregiving.
And Tucker says the gap is becoming even wider during the pandemic.
12% of women told researchers at indeed that they are not comfortable asking for a raise.
Jennifer Shydler, a financial advisor with Bank of America, says there's a silver lining here in Nevada from women who know their worth: creating businesses and now leading companies.
Even in the traditionally male dominated industry of gambling, Shydler says the future is female.
The World Economic Forum says it will take more than 250 years to close the gender wage gap.
Dorianne St. Fleur has been coaching women on their careers and she says we are making progress.
But the National Womens Law Center says that only happens when we use our voice.
