Texas is making strides toward gender pay equality, but women across the state and in our area continue to see their wages lag behind that of their male counterparts, say researchers from the Texas Women’s Foundation.
Women who are full-time, year-round employees make about 71 percent the salaries of men in Collin County, about 75 percent in Denton County, and about 95 percent in Dallas County. The state average is 82 percent.
But Dallas County lags behind when it comes to women in what the study deems managerial or professional occupations—those that generally require a four-year degree and involve higher pay and benefits. Just 38 percent of employed Dallas women hold those kinds of jobs, compared to 54 percent in Collin County and 48 percent in Denton County. Here, the state comes in at 41 percent.
A few other points of note from “The Economic Status of Texas Women in Collin, Dallas and Denton Counties”:
• The median annual earnings for women is $51,709 in Collin County, $47,388 in Denton County, $38,782 in Dallas County, and $40,000 across the state.
• The disparities among women of color are much more stark. At $26,000—again, for full-time, year-round workers—Hispanic women in Dallas have the lowest median wages of any group within the three counties. Black women in Dallas County come in at $36,767 and white women are at $53,000.
• About 30 percent of Dallas women at least 25 years old have a Bachelor’s Degree or higher, the same rate for the entire state. That compares to 49.1 percent in Collin County and 43 percent in Denton County.
