WOMEN
WORK
& WAGES
WOMEN, WORK & WAGES 2026 REPORT: SPOTLIGHT ON OCCUPATIONAL SEGREGATION & PARENTHOOD
Vermont women working full-time earn a median annual salary that is $6,800 less than their male counterparts. That is enough to feed a single mother with one child for almost 10 months. We invite you to delve into two key contributors to this disparity: occupational segregation and parenthood. Both men and women often overlook rewarding career paths that align with their passions and skills by sticking to gender-typical roles. Furthermore, research shows that while parenthood can boost men’s earnings, women’s wages often stagnate and labor force participation decreases. By addressing these challenges directly, we can foster a more equitable workforce that not only benefits individuals but also enhances our economy as a whole. This report will focus on Vermonters of prime working age, 25-64 years old, working full-time year-round.
Vermont women aged 25-64 working full-time earn just $0.90 for every dollar earned by men, $6,800 less annually.
$66.8K Men
The wage gap is even greater for Black and Hispanic women in the U.S.
$1
$0.82
$60K
$0.68
Women
White Men
Vermont Median Annual Earnings, Full-time, Year-round Workers Aged 25-64 Source: IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2024 5-yr estimates
White Women
Black Women
$0.65
Hispanic Women
In the U.S. in 2025 white women earned 81.9% of white men's pay, black women 68.3%, and Hispanic women 64.5%.1 Sample sizes in Vermont data can lead to large margins of error. In this case, we look to national data as a proxy.
Nationally, women of prime working age earn $0.82 for each dollar a man earns, a gap in the U.S. of over $12,000/year in median annual earnings. In Vermont, the wage gap has decreased over the last ten years; the earnings ratio rose from $0.86 on the dollar in 2014 to $0.90 today.2