LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Across the nation, working women do not earn as much money as their male counterparts do, but the problem is worse in Kentucky, one new study finds. According to the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), the gap is widening in the Bluegrass. 

What You Need To Know

  • Gender wage gap in Kentucky worse than the national average, according to one study

  • First Lady Britainy Beshear speaks out against the disparity, calls it "very disheartening"

  • The pandemic has also seen many women leave the workforce

  • Beshear says there should be efforts to achieve equal pay and to help women back into the workforce

The CPE found that women with an associate or bachelor's degree make just 73 cents for every $1 a man with either of those degrees makes, while a woman with a master's degree makes on average 77 cents for each $1 a man with a master's degree does. The CPE says the U.S. Census Bureau reported that women make 82 cents to every dollar earned by men in 2019.

That's a problem, according to Kentucky's First Lady Britainy Beshear. She spoke with Spectrum News 1 during Women's History Month, hoping for change. 

"It is very disheartening," said Beshear. "I have a son and a daughter, and there is absolutely no reason that my son should make more than my daughter just based on his gender."

Another alarming trend due to the pandemic is women exiting the workforce. Due to COVID-19, many have lost their jobs or stayed home for reasons such as lack of childcare. That's part of the reason for such a disparity in wages, employment attorney Emily Litzinger believes. 

"Because there's this dis​proportionate impact the pandemic has had on women exiting the workforce, we're seeing that economists are projecting that it's gonna widen the gap," Litzinger said. 

While Litzinger does feel some employers pay women less of a wage than those equally-qualified men, she feels the pandemic is exacerbating the trend. She explains fewer qualified women are remaining in the workforce, and those that remain or later re-enter will therefore have less work experience. 

"What I think has happened is there weren't great efforts made before the pandemic, and the pandemic kind of ripped it open and it's widening even more," she added. 

Beshear says there should be efforts to achieve equal pay, but also, to help women back into the workforce. 

"I hope that those things are taken seriously and addressed, because in this day and age, I don't see any reason why women should be paid any less than men for doing the exact same job," she says. 

Wednesday, March 24, is recognized as Equal Pay Day. It's the day on which an average woman's pay will catch up to her male counterpart's pay from the previous year.