New Reservation Wage Report Shows Widening Gap Between Men and Women

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A new labor market survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York suggests the average reservation wage — the lowest wage respondents would be willing to accept for a new job — increased in the past year, and that the gender gap is widening.

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In the past year, the average reservation wage increased to $72,873 from $68,954 in July 2021, according to the survey. The N.Y. Fed said that the series recorded its highest reading of $73,283 in March 2022.

Over that same time span, however, the average reservation wage for men soared to $86,259, while for women it declined to $59,543. Further, in July 2021, the reservation wage for men stood at $80,974 — while for women, it stood at $56,125, per the data.

Any year-over-year increases were most pronounced for younger (below age 45) respondents, college graduates and men, the N.Y. Fed detailed.

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Global Gender Gap Persists, WEF Indicates

According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2022, gender parity is not recovering.

“It will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap. As crises are compounding, women’s workforce outcomes are suffering and the risk of global gender parity backsliding further intensifies,” an introduction to the report reads.

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The report notes, however, that North America leads all regions on this issue, having closed 76.9% of its gender gap. North America is followed by Europe, which has closed 76.6% of its gap; Latin America and the Caribbean, which closed 72.6% of its gender gap; and Central Asia, along with East Asia and the Pacific, having closed 69.1% and 69% of their gender gaps, respectively.

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About the Author

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy is a full-time financial journalist and has written for several publications, including Dow Jones, The Financial Times Group, Bloomberg and Business Insider. She also worked as a vice president/senior content writer for major NYC-based financial companies, including New York Life and MSCI. Yaël is now freelancing and most recently, she co-authored  the book “Blockchain for Medical Research: Accelerating Trust in Healthcare,” with Dr. Sean Manion. (CRC Press, April 2020) She holds two master’s degrees, including one in Journalism from New York University and one in Russian Studies from Université Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, France.
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