PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Marking Equal Pay Day, Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan released a report that found while progress has been made since the legislature passed the 2017 Pay Equity Bill, wage gaps persist in the state, according to the Oregon Audits Division.

Since 2015, women have on average earned 83 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts, the report found. Additionally, people of color earned 88 cents for every dollar made by their white counterparts, according to the study.

Additionally, women received more raises than men, but the report says the pay increase was not enough to close the median wage gap and that women of color continue to have the largest wage gaps.

The study also found white employees had the largest pay adjustments in 2019 and 2022 while people of color received the smallest.

“We’ve made progress,” Secretary Fagan said. “Agencies have implemented best practices that could reduce wage gaps over time and many state employees saw their pay go up during two rounds of adjustments. On the individual level, that matters a lot. However, this report shows at the macro level we’ve still got work to do to address persistent wage gaps in our society.”

“The Pay Equity Bill allows for some circumstances where wage gaps may be reasonable, such as differences in education, experience, or seniority. Systemic issues in our society impacting those factors are likely contributing to persistent wage gaps among state employees,” Fagan said in a press release.

She added a “woman would need to work nearly 44 years to earn the same amount a man earns in 30 years, based on the average wage gap since 1960. Although wage gaps have improved, women and people of color must still work years longer to earn the same amount of money.”