BUFFALO, N.Y. — A report released this week by the New York state Comptroller's Office shows a significant pay discrepancy between men and women in New York.

What You Need To Know

  • Equal Pay Day events are scheduled throughout the year

  • While several reports have been released, the findings conclude there is a wide gender pay gap between men and women

  • Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is the latest to release a statewide snapshot

The report from state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli found that in 2023, women earned 87 cents on the dollar compared to men and that it would take women 53 days to equal that amount.

DiNapoli says the state is looking to close the gap with a number of investments, including access to quality and affordable child care.

"It really just underscores the fact that we still have a ways to go," said DiNapoli. "Is it a little better perhaps than it was a couple years ago? Yeah, but we haven't seen the kind of leap in progress that I think many of us would have hoped for."

Another report was released Tuesday from Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab, funded through Erie County's Commission on the Status of Women. To mark Equal Pay Day, the purpose of the report is to raise awareness about the ongoing gender pay gap and how it varies among different communities in the area.

"This report joins a larger body of research, articles and books that examine the roots of gender pay inequity and why it persists," said Karen King, executive director, commissioner of public advocacy, Erie County Commission on the Status of Women.

Researchers found, in-part, gender disparities in career advancement, political representation and wages, with women comprising almost half of the county's workforce but making on average $2.74 less than men, not to mention unpaid domestic labor.

In addition, more than two-dozen working women participated in focus groups to share their own personal issues and insights, as well as discuss potential solutions.

"There are some serious dark clouds on the horizon to take us ladies down," said Cathy Creighton, director, ILR Buffalo Co-Lab. "We need to put a stake in the ground to know where we are, so we can see if we are going forward or backwards."

Equal Pay Day was recognized by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said in a statement:

"Women are too often the first to care for a child or an aging parent, sacrificing their own financial security in the process and in New York we refuse to accept this as the status quo. We are doing the hard work. We've enshrined abortion rights in our constitution, guaranteed women 20 hours of paid prenatal leave, expanded access to childcare, developed workforce development programs to expand opportunities for women and bolster our Minority and Women Owned Business Programs — because when women have the freedom and support to succeed, our entire economy grows. Equal pay isn't just about fairness; it's about building a stronger, more equitable future for all and as New York's first woman Governor, this is a fight I look forward to winning."

The next Equal Pay Day is set for April 7.