A report released by the New York City Council found that gender and racial wage gaps continue to persist in municipal jobs.
The Pay Disparity Report released by Council Speaker Adrienne Adams on Tuesday found that women of color are being paid less, as they are concentrated in job titles that consistently provide lower wages and continue to lack access to jobs dominated by white and male employees and paying higher wages, according to a news release.
“For our historic most diverse and women-majority Council, the fight for pay equity is personal and a priority to advance equity,” said Speaker Adams. “Every member of our diverse workforce should be compensated fairly for their hard work, regardless of race or gender. Pay equity is not only a matter of racial, gender, and economic justice, but also fosters a culture of inclusivity and respect that improves the city’s ability to retain its talented workforce. When we invest in equal pay, we invest in the future of our city, unlocking the full potential of our diverse workers and driving sustainable growth.”
The 2024 report reveals that employees in the municipal workforce that identify as Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino and Other Race/Ethnicities (ABHLO) earn $0.84 for every $1 paid to white city employees. It also shows that for every dollar earned by white male employees, all other workers earn on average 82 cents, demonstrating that people of color – and women of color – are experiencing the overwhelming impact of pay disparities.
Agencies with the highest percentage of female employees consistently have median salaries below the City workforce’s median, while those with the lowest percentage of female employees have salaries above the median. The same pattern holds for agencies with the highest and lowest percentages of employees of color.
“The Pay Disparity Report released by Speaker Adrienne E. Adams reinforces that equal pay for equal work still does not exist in our municipal workforce,” said Council Member Julie Menin, co-chair of the Women's Caucus. “No job should pay less because of their gender, ethnicity, or race and it is unconscionable that women of color earn only $.84 for every dollar earned by men."
Female employees of color in the city’s workforce account for more than two-thirds of the overall racial pay gap of 16 cents, while male employees of color account for approximately one-third. Across the municipal workforce, female employees of color saw the smallest improvement in their pay gap between 2018 and 2021.
The data also demonstrates that 95% of gender and racial pay gaps are due to occupational segregation that concentrates women and people of color in job titles that pay less across and within agencies, the report concluded.
The report includes data for municipal wages up to 2021, as maintained by the Pay Equity Law (Local Law 18 of 2019), which requires the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics (MODA) to publicly report New York City municipal employee pay data on its open source analytics library and provide the Council with data so it can facilitate its own annual statistical analysis.
To address occupational segregation and eliminate pay disparities, the Council will consider legislation designed to promote greater diversity in well-paid career tracks that are predominantly held by men and white employees, the news release said.
An interactive webpage with the findings is available here and the full report is here.
