Women Lead in Minnesota, Yet Lifetime Impact of Wage Gap Can Be More than $1 Million

Inequities Persist for Women and Girls in MN, New Research Says

The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs released new research today on the status of women, girls, and gender-expansive people in Minnesota in economics, safety, health, and leadership. A press conference on March 4 at the Minnesota State Capitol will share highlights of the research. See the new report.

The report details persistent inequities facing women, girls, and gender-expansive people in Minnesota, with greater disparities faced by Black, Indigenous, and women and girls of color, rural women and girls, LGBTQ+ people, and older women.

According to Gloria Perez, President & CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, the disparities shown in the report limit women’s potential, compromise their safety, hinder access to healthcare, and limit leadership opportunities. “We must close the gaps in earnings, safety, health, and leadership – especially for Black, Indigenous, and women of color. All women and girls deserve equal access to opportunities. When we invest in women and girls, families and communities thrive,” said Perez.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to addressing gender inequalities. Understanding how gender, race, place, sexuality, and dis/ability shape life chances and outcomes is key to crafting responses that address the unique disparities faced by different groups,” said Christina Ewig, Director of the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy, who leads the research project.

The report focuses on four distinct issue areas:

Economics

Minnesota continues to economically shortchange all groups of women, with Latina, Black, and Indigenous women impacted the most. Minnesota is second in the nation in women’s workforce participation, at 79 percent. Minnesota woman also earn the most post-secondary degrees. Despite high rates of workforce participation, including among mothers, and education, Minnesota women face persistent wage and wealth inequalities.

Minnesota women remain segregated in lower-paying industries, and race and gender have an outsized impact on earnings. Unpaid care work – disproportionately performed by Minnesota women – results in a loss of lifetime earnings and economic opportunities. Minnesota women also struggle to access child care and afford housing.

The wage gap facing all women in Minnesota has barely budged over the past decade. On average, Minnesota women who work full-time all year make 81 cents for every dollar that men make, with important differences when it comes to race and ethnicity. Latina women, for instance, make 63 cents for every dollar and Black women make 61 cents for every dollar. The gender wage gap has lifetime impacts for women of color. Asian women in Minnesota lose an estimated $745,640, while Black, Latina, and Native American women lose more than $1 million over a lifetime.

For women to achieve economic security, we need to raise pay in occupations dominated by women, ensure all workers have access to a living wage, expand educational opportunities and access to high-paying trades, address the affordable housing crisis, and subsidize high-quality child care as infrastructure for families.

Safety

Women and girls in Minnesota are harmed by gender-based violence across their lifetimes – in their homes, on the streets, and in schools, workplaces, and the criminal justice system. We could fill Target Field over 28 times with the number of Minnesota women who have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking. One in three Minnesota women report sexual violence, and one in five report physical violence from a partner in her lifetime. Rates are higher for Native American and Black women, in particular.

Minnesota nonprofits provide important support for survivors, including legal assistance, housing, and advocacy, but are unable to meet the demand for service due to resource limitations. A loss in federal and state funding has hurt Minnesota agencies who rely upon the federal infrastructure established by laws such as the Violence Against Women Act to cover the cost of services, staff, and overhead.

Consequences of violence, whether witnessed or experienced directly, ripple over a lifetime and affect both physical and mental health, unwanted pregnancy, substance abuse, housing security, economic productivity, and a lack of personal freedom.

Sexuality and gender identity also influence safety. Two-thirds (67%) of LGBTQ+ Minnesotans report experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination or harassment in the past year.

Health

Health inequities for Black, Indigenous, and women and girls+ of color, LGBTQ+ people, and rural women and girls lead to significant differences in health care access, quality, and outcomes in Minnesota. Improving positive health outcomes and access to care requires a living wage, freedom from violence, access to affordable and healthy foods, safe housing, physical activity, and time for rest.

Nearly 2 in 3 participants in Minnesota’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are women. Healthcare costs in Minnesota are a greater barrier for women of color and access has only worsened.

Access to prenatal care is unequal across race and ethnic groups in Minnesota, with Native women reporting the highest rate of inadequate care at 54 percent, followed by Black women at 38 percent. Minnesota’s decline in rural obstetric services outstrips the national average. Forty-five percent of Minnesota counties lack birth services.

Rural Minnesota has a shortage of healthcare providers in general, particularly in primary and mental health care. Rural hospitals have fewer services available, and a disproportionate number of rural medical facilities have closed.

The report also highlights the role of mental health in overall well-being, with depression a mental health risk for both older and younger women, as well as LGBTQ+ Minnesotans. Only 27 percent of the demand for mental health professionals in Minnesota is met.

Leadership

Women in Minnesota are leading in schools, at home, in health care, nonprofits, as activists, and in elected office – caring for families and our communities. Yet Minnesota has a long way to go to achieve gender parity in leadership at nearly every level.

Corporate leadership in Minnesota remains dominated by white men. In the C-suite, women’s leadership has not grown since 2022. In 2024, women held 23.7 percent of these offices in the state’s largest publicly traded companies. Only 2.4 percent of executive positions are held by a woman of color, compared to a national average of 7 percent.

Women hold a greater share of nonprofit and government leadership positions, but men still outnumber women two to one. In politics, the proportion of women in the Minnesota Legislature has fallen slightly to 37 percent from its historic high of 39 percent in 2022. On the local level, men continue to dominate county governments, and women are underrepresented in municipal offices and top school leadership positions.

On average, girls have higher levels of participation in student government and other leadership activities. Overall, 8 percent of teenage boys and 11 percent of teenage girls participate in these activities, with variation by race and ethnicity.

About Status of Women & Girls in Minnesota

The report, produced biennially since 2009, is the leading research on women, girls, and gender-expansive communities in the state and uses an intersectional lens to show how inequities impact communities differently. The report reflects the importance of disaggregating the data by gender, race, place, and additional identities like age, LGBTQ+, and disability to identify systemic barriers and community-specific solutions that benefit all Minnesotans.

Using original and secondary research, the report examines women’s experiences in economics, safety, health, and leadership and demonstrates that inequities accumulate over a lifetime and are impacted substantially by race, place, LGBTQ+ status, and additional identities. The report reflects data in metro and Greater Minnesota, as well as how aging, disability, and LGBTQ+ affect access to resources and measures of success and stability, over a lifetime.