Here's how much the highest-paid women in every US state earn
Money is power, and men still have more of both. Especially at the top.
Despite the multimillion-dollar incomes of women like actress Emma Stone and former Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer, most still lag behind men in terms of pay.
The highest-paid women in every US state earn an average of $226,000 less than their male counterparts, a number that is staggering not only for individuals, but for economic development nationwide.
A recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute found that the US could add $4.3 trillion to its GDP by 2025 by leveling the gender playing field in the workforce.
Saturday marks Women's Equality Day in the US, honoring the 1920 ratification of the 19th amendment, which officially granted all American women the right to vote. There's no doubt women have come a long way since then, but we still have a ways to go - especially when it comes to earning power.
In fact, there are so few women in the top 1%, that to compare the highest-paid men to the highest-paid women in the US, we had to zoom out a bit. Among the top 2% of US earners, men make $371,000 on average, compared to $145,000 for women in the same percentile, according to an analysis of the 2015 American Community Survey by labor economics research firm Job Search Intelligence (JSI).
This is more than a straightforward wage gap problem, however. Women are underrepresented in higher-paid management positions, with only 66 women for every 100 men in business leadership roles, according to the McKinsey report.
Women fare better in some states than others. In Washington, D.C., the highest-earning women make $280,000 a year on average. Average salaries for women break the $200,000 mark in only five states - California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. The highest-paid women in North Dakota, which has the lowest of the average salaries, earn $100,000 a year.
For comparison, check out the map below to see what the highest-paid men in every state earn on average:
