Survey: Men in El Paso make nearly $10K more than women

The YWCA presented survey results at the State of the Women Address Tuesday at the El Paso Community Foundation.

The YWCA conducted a study on the economic status of women in El Paso. “The goal of the study was to determine what barriers women in El Paso face when trying to improve their economic status,” the YWCA said.

Dr. Sylvia Acosta, CEO of the YWCA Paso Del Norte, said, “If you want to improve the lives, and if you want to improve the community, then you need to invest in women. We felt like this study was critically important in order for us to make that point that with economic development goes investment with women.”

Some of the results discussed at the address included the wage gap, education, child care, healthcare and sexual harassment.

The survey found that, on average, men make $9,600 more than women in El Paso. It also found 70 percent of women in El Paso have an associates degree or less.

Christen Ahumada, a former student body president at UTEP, told ABC-7, “People don’t know the distinction between equality and equity. I think we all have the same opportunity to apply for the same jobs, but when it comes to equity in our wage gap and who gets paid in the amount of work, I think that’s something that should be at the top of our agenda and we should be addressing.”

The study included a survey in both English and Spanish and six two-hour focus groups.

Click here for all the results.