In partnership with Women Creating Change, the Center for New York City Affairs released its second report in a series exploring gender-related economic challenges. Unequal Ground: The Impact of Industrial and Occupational Segregation on Women’s Economic Outcomes in New York City sheds light on the nuanced ways in which gender inequity is embedded within and perpetuated by the very structure of labor markets.

The report investigates intersectional pay penalties, finding that being a woman in New York City has a statistically significant negative impact on earnings, as does being a worker of color; and being a woman worker of color carries a larger pay penalty than either category alone. Holding education, experience, and industry constant, white women have a 13 percent pay penalty compared to white men, and women of color have a 23 percent pay penalty compared to white men. The report also offers a city-wide and borough-level map of New York City’s women workforce and highlights high pay penalties in certain industries due to occupational crowding, the caregiver penalty, and discrimination. The findings illuminate the enduring challenges within our labor markets and reinforce the need for systemic change.