Women in Alaska have better pay but poorer health

ANCHORAGE -- Alaska women average larger paychecks than women nationwide, but rank significantly lower for health and well-being, according to a new report.

The Institute of Women's Policy Research in Washington, D.C., produces the biennial study that considers women in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study compares such things as how many women in a particular state vote, how happy they are and how their salaries compare with male co-workers'.

The institute has gathered information on most states since 1996, but this marks Alaska's first inclusion in the study and provides unprecedented information on women's lives in this state, said Shelley Theno, a University of Alaska Anchorage professor who reviewed the report.

"The hope is this can be used as a jumping-off point," Theno said. "When you have information, one would think you'd move on that information. It calls for action."

The report does not cover violence against women, but it follows two recent reports that say women in Alaska are the most likely in the country to be killed by men and are way ahead of the national average for rates of rape.

The new study says women here contract chlamydia at almost twice the rate of the nation's average. And the state's suicide rate for women is second only to Nevada's.

Jeanine Sparks, former chairwoman for the Alaska Suicide Prevention Council, said Western states in general have high suicide rates, but Alaska has long had the worst. It can't be tied to one cause, Sparks said.

"But you combine these factors -- isolation, being away from extended family, people having a hard time dealing with darkness, if they're dealing with depression," Sparks said.

The study assigned Alaska a rate of 7.5 per 100,000 deaths from suicide versus 4 nationally. Women in Alaska attempt suicide four times more often than men and report higher rates of depression, according to the Suicide Prevention Council.

The report also covered issues unrelated to health. For example, women here ranked third nationally for voter turnout in 1998 and 2000.

Alaska women working full-time have median earnings of $34,300 -- making them sixth highest-paid nationwide and first in the Western states. Nationally, women make an average of $30,100, the report said.

While the wage gap between what men and women make exists in Alaska, it's not as severe as in some places: On average, U.S. women make about 76 cents for every dollar earned by men. In Alaska, it's almost 79 cents.

Women also make a strong showing in Alaska's work force. Roughly 66 percent are employed, compared to 59.6 nationally, making women here seventh nationwide and first in the Western region for work force participation.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research, which wrote and researched the status of women report, is a nonprofit organization that studies a breadth of issues that affect women's daily lives. The information primarily came from federal agencies, the report says.

Information from: Anchorage Daily News

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