Gender gap in pay smaller in Richmond than Hampton Roads

Women still are paid less than men, but the gap is wider in Hampton Roads than it is in Richmond, according to Old Dominion University's new State of the Region report.

In 21 of 26 fields studied, including farmers and legal assistants, women locally earned less on average than women in the Richmond area in comparable jobs. The report, which used census data, said cost of living was not a factor because it is similar in both regions.

ODU economist and former president James Koch, who edited the report, said the findings surprised him.

He said the most likely reason for the regional differential is the prevalence of "trailing spouses" who accompany military personnel and college professors to Hampton Roads.

"The economic reality," Koch said, "is that lots of them come into the region and they have certain qualifications that cause them to seek jobs in a limited number of areas."

Those areas, such as sales, have larger-than-average gender gaps in wages.

Another factor, Koch said, is the younger average age of women in Hampton Roads. That translates to less experience and lower salaries.

William Mezger, an economist with the Virginia Employment Commission, said the agency hasn't studied gender differences in pay. He said women's wages might be lower locally because the region has more service and tourism jobs than Richmond.

Richmond, Mezger said, also "is more office-oriented" and has more corporate headquarters.

Louisa Strayhorn, a corporate consultant in Virginia Beach, said women's pay in Richmond is probably boosted by the supply of state government jobs. "They pay pretty good salaries," she said.

Strayhorn, chief executive officer of LSA Consulting LLC, served as the director of the Virginia Department of Business Assistance, which encourages economic development, from May 2006 to April 2008. She said her salary was between $120,000 and $160,000 a year.

The ODU study also showed that, in terms of pay, local female workers do worse than their counterparts nationally in most types of work, except for local government jobs.

In the local government job category, women's earnings average 92 percent of men's wages locally, compared with 81 percent nationally. In the private for-profit sector, the percentages are 71 percent in Hampton Roads and 75 percent in the country.

National reports have shown that women make 80 percent of what men do for comparable work, Koch said. In Virginia, according to a report last year from the American Association of University Women, the figure is 67 percent.

He attributed most of the gap to factors such as women's choice of jobs. Only one-quarter or so of the differential can be attributed to discrimination, he said.

Strayhorn, however, believes sexism still looms large. "It's still horrifying to me that, after all these years, women are earning less on the dollar than men," she said. "This is crazy."

More women, she said, need to research salaries at the companies where they apply for jobs and negotiate for higher offers.

"Too many women do not do that," Strayhorn said. "Many are afraid they won't get the job if they do that. But sometimes information puts you in a better bargaining position."

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com