SAN ANTONIO — If you’re a woman San Antonio, your paychecks are smaller than your counterparts' in other Texas cities.
“They make about $9,000 less than women in Austin and $2,500 less than Dallas and Houston,” said Dr. Rogelio Saenz of the University of Texas-San Antonio.
That’s just one of the inequalities Dr. Saenz noted in his status of women in San Antonio report, commissioned by the city. Census data showed that the wage gap between men and women is larger in San Antonio than the gap in Dallas, Austin and Houston.
“We want it to be a major city where people are thriving, succeeding. But if we have 51 percent of the population, that’s women and young girls, not succeeding, that hampers the vision,” he said.
Dr. Saenz also reported that women make less than men in general – earning 82 cents to every dollar a man makes – despite more women pursuing higher education. “Women are 2 percentage points higher than men to have a college diploma but that doesn’t translate to changes in the workforce.”
This affects bank accounts even after they leave the workplace. Men over 65 are more likely to have pensions, Dr. Saenz said.
Despite the better pay, however, Dr. Saenz said he doesn’t expect these women to abandon jobs here. “Women, as well as men, are strongly attached to San Antonio. I think San Antonio has more people that are native than compared to the other cities,” he said.
The theory has the city determined to decrease wage discrepancies. “There seems to be a plan in place to improve conditions for women,” Dr. Saenz said.
Because those better conditions for one demographic means a stronger workforce for San Antonio.