Women and the persisting pay gap: Colorado thought leaders weigh in on reasons, solutions.

• Author: Caley, Nora

Nationally, women earn 79 cents for every dollar men take home, when comparing full time, annual wages. Hillary Clinton, as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, says she wants to boost women's pay to be equal to men's. (Republican candidate Donald Trump has not made any announcements on the fair pay issue, to date.) In Colorado, women earn 80 cents to men's dollar.

We asked women across Colorado why there is still a gender wage gap, what their experiences have been, and how the gap can be closed.

Joelle Martinez

Executive director, Latino Leadership Institute at the University of Denver

"Pay structure and inequality really start at the top. Women are only 4.4 percent of all CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. When you look at Latinas, it's less than 1 percent. When we look at corporate board service, 19 percent of board members are women, and 0.5 percent are Latina. For Latinas in particular this is an extraordinary problem. Latinas earn 55 cents compared to the dollar that men earn, and Latinas are overwhelmingly becoming the breadwinners in their families. Policy change has to happen at the top. That's why we are not seeing the kind of change we need to see on the corporate side."

Jessica Rusin

Director of engineering, Guild Education

"In industries where there are fewer women, the pay gap is even greater. I think more women working in the STEM fields can help reduce the pay gap. However, creating more awareness and transparency around the issue is important. It is important for women to be advocates for themselves, and to gather as much data about what average salaries are for their positions. Women mentors in similar fields can help other women understand what is fair compensation for a particular position. Also, promoting more women into management positions can be helpful in reducing gaps as it's more visible at that level."

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"There is still a perception or bias that women are providing less value. Jobs that embody traditional female qualities, such as care-taking, are generally jobs that pay less overall, and those associated with masculine qualities have higher pay overall. I think some of this translates when women cross over into traditionally male dominated fields--they take their perceived feminine qualities with them and are therefore seen as offering less value.

"As a boss, you have the power to be fairer in your raise and review processes. Consider offering training for your team on how to better negotiate a salary. Consider the criteria you are using to judge people. Does it reinforce any biases?"

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"Some of the reasons the pay gap continues to exist include identified factors such as occupational choices, industry selection, experience, union status, lack of affordable housing in major cities, lack of STEM education and mentorship, societal pressure on girls, etc.

"From an education perspective, I think it's important to consider even the language we use around 'STEM,' and how we model what STEM careers can look like. Not everyone has to be an engineer to be highly successful and technical. There are associate-degreed roles and alternative schools that offer a glide path to success that is easily the difference between low income and a meaningful livelihood. We can help demystify STEM at the grade school, middle and high school levels--each are key intervention points for believing STEM careers are a possibility for a girl--by actively participating in area schools and using language children can relate to and are excited about."

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"Other states such as New Mexico and Wisconsin have provided the tools for businesses to look at their own systems and maybe address and identify any gaps for women and men performing the same work. We're hopeful Colorado can create some sort of model as well.

"The important thing...