WEEKEND. WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE’S BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE WORKFORCE FOR A FEW MINUTES. A BIG DIFFERENCE IN PARTICIPATION RATES OF MEN AND WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE BY AGE GROUPS, AND A BIG DIFFERENCE IN THEIR PAY. HERE ARE THE PARTICIPATION RATES OF MEN AND WOMEN. MEN IN THE GREEN BARS. WOMEN. THE BLUE BARS, AGES 25 TO 34 ON THE LEFT, AGES 35 TO 44 IN THE MIDDLE AND AGES 45 TO 54 ON THE RIGHT. MEN HAD MEDIAN EARNINGS OF 75,397. WOMEN HAD MEDIAN EARNINGS OF 61,442. SO WOMEN EARNED 81% OF WHAT MEN EARNED. NOT A NEW REVELATION. AND THE GENDER PAY GAP IS REPORTEDLY WIDER FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR ACROSS ALL RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS. NOW, HEALTH DIAGNOSING AND TREATMENT. THESE ARE THE LARGE ONES. THESE ARE THE LARGE PAY GAPS. LOOK AT THE NUMBERS. PERSONAL CARE AND SERVICE. YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBERS IN THE PAY GAPS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN. COMPUTER AND MATHEMATICAL 112 66986649 FOR WOMEN NATIONALLY IN 2025, THE LARGEST GENDER PAY GAP WAS AMONG LEGAL OCCUPATIONS, ACCORDING TO USA FACTS, WORKERS IN CAREGIVING OCCUPATIONS, MEDIAN HOURLY WAGES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, 2020 FOR EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION WORKERS, YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBER. HOME HEALTH AND PERSONAL CARE AIDES. YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBER. NURSING ASSISTANTS. ALL OF THOSE ARE BELOW THE STATEWIDE MEDIAN NUMBER OF 2529. AFTER SAYING ALL THAT, HERE’S THE LAW EQUAL PAY AND THE LAW. IT IS ILLEGAL IN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNDER BOTH STATE AND FEDERAL LAW, TO PAY EMPLOYEES DIFFERENT WAGES FOR THE SAME WORK BASED SOLELY ON SEX APPLICABLE LAW. RSA 275. COLON 37. WITH ME TO WALK THROUGH. THIS IS THE PERSON WHO DID THE RESEARCH ON THOSE NUMBERS. JESSICA WILLIAMS, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST AT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE. WELCOME. NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON. IN DOING THAT RESEARCH, WHAT DID YOU COME ACROSS? ANYTHING THAT EXPLAINS THE PERSISTENCE OF THIS GAP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN FOR EQUAL. WHAT DID YOU COME ACROSS? I MEAN, IT’S LASTED. THIS THING HAS LASTED FOR OVER 50 YEARS. THE NATIONAL PAY, EQUAL PAY ACT MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO. IS CLEAR. NEW HAMPSHIRE LAW IS CLEAR, BUT THE GAP COULD PERSIST. ABSOLUTELY. SO THERE’S LIKELY VARIOUS FACTORS PLAYING A ROLE IN THESE PAY GAPS. ONE IS OCCUPATIONAL DIFFERENCES. WE KNOW THAT WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE ENGAGED IN PAID CAREGIVING ROLES, SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, PERSONAL CARE, CHILD CARE OCCUPATIONS. WE SAW A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THAT IN 2025. WE ALSO SEE A DIFFERENCE IN CAREER INTERRUPTIONS. WOMEN MAY BE MORE LIKELY TO LEAVE THE WORKFORCE TO CARE FOR CHILDREN OR OLDER ADULT FAMILY MEMBERS, WHICH COULD PLACE A GAP IN THOSE PAYS OVER TIME. WE ALSO SEE SOME BARRIERS TO CAREER ADVANCEMENT, IN PARTICULAR. SO WHILE WOMEN MEN MAY EARN THE SAME FOR CERTAIN ROLES, MEN MAY BE MORE LIKELY TO HOLD THOSE HIGHER PAYING LEADERSHIP ROLES, PARTICULARLY AMONG CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS. YOU MONITOR THE NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGISLATURE LIKE A HAWK. ALL OF YOU AT THE INSTITUTE. HAS THERE BEEN ANY EFFORT THAT YOU’RE AWARE OF IN THE LEGISLATURE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE TO DEAL WITH THIS ISSUE? SO I’M NOT AWARE OF ANY AT THE MOMENT. BUT WHEN WE DO CONSIDER POLICY SOLUTIONS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER WHY THESE PAY GAPS MAY EXIST. SO OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TRAINING MAY HELP WOMEN ADVANCE IN THEIR CAREERS. TAKE ON SOME OF THOSE HIGHER PAYING ROLES, AS WELL AS INVESTMENTS IN THE CHILDCARE SECTOR. OLDER ADULT CARE SECTOR COULD HELP. YOU KNOW, MAKE THOSE OPTIONS MORE AFFORDABLE FOR FAMILIES AND TO REMAIN IN THE WORKFORCE. ONE OF THE OCCUPATIONS ON YOUR LIST WAS HEALTH CARE, AND IT’S ONE OF THE LARGEST, IF NOT THE LARGEST OCCUPATION SECTOR IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. AND YOU HAVE A PAY GAP THERE OF $90,000, IF I’VE GOT THAT RIGHT. THAT’S AMAZING. YES. YEAH. SO THAT IS REPRESENTING THE HEALTH CARE SECTOR AS A WHOLE. THERE ARE VARIOUS HEALTHCARE OCCUPATIONS WITHIN THAT SECTOR, BUT IN 2024, WOMEN EARNED ESSENTIALLY HALF OF WHAT MEN EARNED IN THOSE SECTORS. NOW, HERE’S A NOTE FOR ALL OF YOU THAT MAY BE THINKING ABOUT YOUR PAY GAP. THE NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INDICATES ON ITS WEBSITE THAT IF YOU THINK YOUR EMPLOYER HAS VIOLATED THE PROVISIONS OF STATE LAW ON WAGES FOR THE SAME WORK THAT YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONTACT THEM, THE NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR IN CONCORD, AND THAT IS IT. JESSICA WILLIAMS, SENIOR POLICY, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST AT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE. THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. AND IF YOU MISSED THIS BRIEFING ON PAY GAP

A tick-borne illness that can leave people severely allergic to meat and dairy is becoming a growing concern in New Hampshire, according to comments from a state public health official and federal health guidance.

Alpha-gal syndrome is becoming more frequent in New England as ticks move farther north, some say, due to climate change.

The illness is carried most commonly by the Lone Star tick.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half a million people nationwide are affected by alpha-gal syndrome. The CDC says the condition differs from typical food allergies because symptoms are often delayed by two hours or more after exposure and can appear suddenly after years of eating meat without problems.

The CDC says the reaction is linked to alpha-gal, a molecule associated with mammalian meat and some mammalian-derived products. In people with the syndrome, symptoms can occur 2 to 10 hours after eating pork, beef, lamb, other mammalian meat, or products such as gelatin. The CDC also says symptoms can develop within two hours after intramuscular, intravenous, or subcutaneous administration of alpha-gal-containing vaccination or medication.

Symptoms listed by the CDC include abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and heartburn or indigestion. The agency also says people may experience hives, itching, swelling of the lips, tongue, throat, face or eyelids, shortness of breath, cough, wheezing, and acute hypotension. Anaphylaxis is also among the symptoms identified by the CDC.