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In
the Press
Published
Mar 1, 2007 in the Portsmouth Herald
Letters to the Editor
Wage policy affects women
March 1 -- To the Editor:
A bill to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 is currently
before the New Hampshire Legislature.
In considering this bill, lawmakers should understand that most
of the state's minimum wage workers are women. According to a
study for the New Hampshire Women's Policy Institute, women made
up 47 percent of the state's work force, but 67 percent of its
minimum or near-minimum wage workers, based on 2000 Census data.
More recent data show the same disparity exists today.
In 2004, 4 percent of full-time working women had earnings equal
to minimum wage or less, compared to 2 percent of full-time working
men, according to estimates by researchers from the University
of New Hampshire Carsey Institute. This amounts to about 7,370
women and 5,490 men, or about 12,860 full-time workers, with women
twice as likely as men to be earning these wages. These estimates
do not include the thousands of part-time workers -- again, predominantly
women -- who also earn minimum wage.
Clearly, there are trade-offs to raising the minimum wage, and
women business owners -- like their male counterparts -- may face
tough choices in meeting the costs of any potential increase.
Whatever lawmakers decide to do, they should also examine policies
that enable women to advance economically in other ways. Programs
that support training and education, that facilitate women moving
into higher-paying job sectors, and that provide child care and
other family supports for low-income families could help advance
both women's and men's earnings in the state, and support economic
growth.
The N.H. Women's Policy Institute provides data to inform decision-making
on issues affecting women, and takes no position on the current
legislative proposal to raise the minimum wage.
Katherine Merrow
Executive director
New Hampshire Women's Policy Institute, Concord
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Quick Facts
» Women made up only 10% of full-time workers earning more than $100,000 per year in New Hampshire in 1999.
» Women made up nearly 60% of New Hampshire’s full-time workers earning less than $15,000 per year in 1999.
» Among married, full-time workers, women earned 68% of what men earned in 1999 in New Hampshire.
» One in 14 working women in New Hampshire earns minimum or near minimum wage.
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