Animated map shows the staggering salary differences between the highest-paid men and women

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August 31, 2017 8:26 PM

The average woman in the top 2% of earners makes just 39 cents for every dollar a man makes.

Across the US, the average income for the top 2% of all earners is $206,000.

But among women in the top 2%, the average salary is $145,000, compared to $371,000 for men, according to an analysis of the 2015 American Community Survey by labor economics research firmJob Search Intelligence(JSI).

That means the average woman in the top 2% makes just 39 cents for every dollar a man makes. Overall, women earn an average of 79 cents for every dollar a man makes in the US, according to a2016 reportpublished by the Joint Economic Committee Democratic Staff.

While striking, the pay gap at the top isn't likely a matter of women being paid significantly less than their male counterparts, but rather thatwomen are underrepresented at the highest levels of management.

In fact, in some states, so few women make it into the top 1% — which requires an average annual salary of $389,436 or more,based on calculations by — that, to protect anonymity, salary data is not reported by gender, according to JSI. That's why we're comparing earnings among the top 2%, instead of the more standard top 1% of earners.

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