Elinor Higgins, executive director of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, speaks about the commission’s 2024 biennial report during a press conference at the State House on Dec. 12. Rachel Ohm/Portland Press Herald.

AUGUSTA — While recent efforts have improved the economic security and working lives of Maine women, they still lag men in pay and are more likely to live in poverty despite having higher levels of education, according to data compiled in a new state report.

The report released Thursday highlights the gender disparities in Maine’s economy and calls for a range of additional reforms to close the gender pay gap and improve opportunities for women.

Full-time working women in Maine earn about 83 cents for every dollar earned by men and about 56% of MaineCare enrollees are women, according to data compiled in the 2024 biennial report of the Maine Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. At the same time, women in Maine generally are more educated than men: Nearly 40% have college degree compared to 34% of men.

The commission, which advises the governor and Legislature, released the report Thursday with an aim of equipping incoming lawmakers with information about the economic security of women.

The report also contains recommendations for lawmakers, including building on investments in childcare and education, continuing to explore and pilot guaranteed income programs and encouraging strategies to recruit and retain a diverse workforce.

“All of this has real life impacts,” said Elinor Higgins, executive director of the commission, during a press conference unveiling the report at the State House. “I would ask that you think about what this information means for our economy, for our current and future workforce, for our communities and for our future as a state.”

Report highlights role of caregivers

While many U.S. states have seen increased employment rates among women, the percentage of Maine women participating in the workforce has not grown significantly in the last 20 years, according to the report. About 84% of men currently participate in the workforce in Maine compared to 76% of women.

The U.S. has also lagged behind Canada, where there has been a consistently higher rate of labor force participation among women since 2000. The difference can be explained in part by a lack of supports for U.S. workers, especially when participation in the workforce comes into competition with caregiving responsibilities, the report said.

Across Maine, women disproportionately make up the direct care workforce and are also more likely to work part time or leave the workforce due to caregiving duties at home or a lack of available services for loved ones. More than 80% of direct care workers, including home care workers and workers in residential care and nursing homes, in Maine are women, according to the report.

That doesn’t help the earnings of women because direct care wages are relatively low and haven’t kept up with inflation. The median hourly wage for direct care workers in Maine is $16.47, while the hourly rate a person needs to support themselves is $22.04, the report said.

The commission said there have been efforts to support higher wages for direct care workers in Maine through MaineCare rate-setting reform, bonus payments to help recruit and retain workers and one-time payments to help the industry recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. But more must be done, they said.

“There is an urgent need to build on recent momentum and ensure that direct care services are accessible and high-quality, and that workers are well-compensated,” the report said.

Maine must also continue to invest in childcare and education. The high cost of child care is a key factor driving Maine women to drop out of the workforce or opt for part-time work to care for their children, according to the report, which lists the average annual price of center-based child care for a toddler at $11,284 and at $7,800 for family-based childcare.

“Through technical assistance, additional investments in higher salaries for early education careers, support for employers, as well as strong local partnerships, we can continue to build on recent success,” the report said.

Pay gap persists

Ninety-five percent of Maine women over age 25 have a high school diploma or higher degree, and nearly 40% have a bachelor’s degree or higher, while 94% of men have high school diplomas and 34% have bachelor’s degrees or higher.

But men still earn a median annual wage that is about $10,000 higher than women, according to the report, which states that the median annual earnings for women in Maine are $48,496 compared to $58,619 for men. That means women are earning about 83% of what men are making.

The gap is even wider for mothers, women of color, disabled women and LGBTQ+ women.

“These gaps add up over time to have a devastating impact on women’s financial security,” Higgins said.

The wage gap has improved slightly from 2015, when a commission report said Maine women were earning 79 cents for every dollar earned by a man doing the same or equivalent work.

And women are more likely to live in poverty, regardless of whether they’re working or not. Five percent of employed women have incomes below the federal poverty level in Maine, compared to 3% of employed men. And 33% of unemployed women live below the federal poverty level, compared to 29% of unemployed men.

The report recommends that the state continue to explore and pilot guaranteed income programs, such as the Quality Housing Coalition’s Project HOME Trust, which launched in 2023 to provide direct cash payments to single, low-income mothers.

Higgins also lauded the implementation of a paid family and medical leave program in Maine, which was approved by lawmakers and Gov. Janet Mills in 2023 and the benefits of which are expected to become available in May 2026.

“While the need is immense and there is a lot more to do in some of these areas, we want to recognize and celebrate these achievements and look at how we can deepen these investments in the future,” she said.

The commission started as an advisory body appointed by Gov. John Reed in 1964 and provided testimony to the Legislature, produced handbooks on the legal rights of women and held workshops for women considering runs for office before dissolving in 1991.

It was reestablished in 2009 and is housed in the Department of the Secretary of State. In 2023, the Legislature approved funding for the first executive director since 1991, and Higgins was brought on in March of this year.