Mass. women behind in equal pay

BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts lags behind most of the rest of the country when it comes to equal pay for women.

The American Association of University Women reports that women earned 77 percent of what men took home in median full-time pay. The study was based on U.S. Census Bureau data.

The Boston Globe reports that the Bay State ranks 37th among states and the District of Columbia, behind every other New England state.

Women working full time in Massachusetts earned a median annual salary of $46,185 in 2011. That was nearly $10,000 more than the median income for women nationwide, but considerably less than the take-home pay of Massachusetts men -- whose annual median salary was $60,264.

Evidence now shows that higher levels of education can make the pay gap more extreme.