Pay disparity between women and men greater in Sedgwick County

Women make less money than men. That’s nothing new.

But newly released data shows how much less money you’ll make if you’re a woman in Sedgwick County than a woman in the rest of the state and the country.

The U.S. Census Bureau released five-year estimates Thursday for its American Community Survey – a survey about a variety of local statistics including education, income, ancestry, migration, employment and housing.

The data shows Sedgwick County has a higher pay disparity between women and men compared with the Kansas average and the national average.

Women in Sedgwick County make an average of $12,352 less than men. Wichita women make $11,110 less per year than men.

The numbers represent full-time, year-round workers from 2010 to 2014.

Kansas women make $10,868 less on average than men each year, and the national disparity sits slightly below Kansas at $10,313.

The Wichita Workforce Center could not immediately comment on the data.

Nancy Bolsen, statewide president of the American Association of University Women, which leads national efforts to combat gender pay gaps, said the consequences for women are significant.

“When you have that much less pay, you have that much less to put down on a car or a house,” she said. “The impacts are huge.”

She said the first step toward addressing the problem would be to figure out why the pay gap is worse for women in Kansas and in Sedgwick County.

On a national level, Bolsen said, the association highlighted the lack of negotiation skills among women as a contributing factor.

“They (women) think they’re equal, and they don’t realize the impact its going to have,” she said.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Pay disparity between women and men greater in Sedgwick County."