ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A new report tracking workers’ wages at nonprofit organizations in Alaska shows a gender pay gap.
The study by the Foraker Group found women in Alaska’s nonprofit industry on average earn 79 cents for every dollar a man earns, Anchorage Public Media reported Monday.
Employees at nonprofit organizations account for 17% of the state’s workforce. Across all industries in Alaska, the most recent data show women are paid 72% of the earnings by men.
The report’s findings are not surprising but are particularly important as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to further widen the gap, said Laurie Wolf, president and CEO of the Foraker Group, the Anchorage-based organization established to support Alaska’s nonprofit sector.
“Our family-friendly workplaces have become our homes,” Wolf said. “And so many women are having to leave the workforce.”
The study used data from the Alaska Department of Labor, quarterly employer reports and information from applications for the state’s Permanent Fund Dividend.
The report lays out potential steps to narrow the pay gap, including promoting pay transparency, creating family-friendly policies and building diverse administrative boards.
The report is not all-encompassing, in part because the dividend application only allows residents to choose a male of female gender, Wolf said.
“It’s not a perfect tool, but it is a better tool than we’ve had before,” Wolf said. “And most importantly, it opens up the conversation to really talk about what are the things that we can really do to help fix the gender pay gap.”
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