By Associated Press - Saturday, January 28, 2017

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Two Wyoming lawmakers are joining together to push for a study of the state’s gender wage gap, but they disagree on what it will likely show.

While Wyoming ranks low on national surveys of the disparity between what men and women are paid, state Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, and Rep. Marti Halverson, R-Etna, think they’re based on bad data, The Wyoming Tribune Eagle (https://bit.ly/2jIoRag) reported Saturday. But while Connolly thinks a state study would give more nuanced data on a gap to help address it, Halverson thinks it will show it doesn’t exist.

Halverson told members of the House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee on Friday that the findings could improve the image of the state where tourism in the second largest industry.

“We can’t have people thinking that we’re backwards and still in pioneer times,” she said.

The all-male committee unanimously voted to advance the proposal, House Bill 209, to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

It would update a study done in 2003. It directs the Department of Workforce Services to analyze wage data, including breakdowns for occupations, by Oct. 1, 2018. The estimated cost is between $60,000 and $96,000.

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Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle, https://www.wyomingnews.com

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