“The most significant disparity is in top administrative positions. Black men this year were paid nearly $3 less per hour on average than their white male colleagues, and black women averaged $1.43 per hour less than white women.

Ariane Hegewisch, a study director for the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, said the gender gap tends to be larger than the race gap because male-dominated jobs tend to pay more. In addition, the highest-paying jobs usually have the largest disparities in pay.

“It’s encouraging that the (wage) gap isn’t very big for state workers overall,” she said.

Still, Hegewisch said a 20 percent wage gap between men and women in top state jobs is significant. ”