The gap between what men and women earn is wider in Wyoming than elsewhere in the nation.

But that may not be the gross injustice it appears to be.

As reported last week, median earnings for women were $28,540 in 2007, compared to $45,310 for men.

Now it's one thing if the disparity were a result of blatant discrimination against women. But as Wenlin Liu, senior economist for the state Economic Analysis Division, points out, much of the difference is explained by the state's heavy dependence on the mining industry and by jobs in other blue-collar sectors like construction.

Consider the natural resources and mining sector, which includes oil and gas.

In 2007, the Research and Planning Section, Wyoming Department of Employment, says more than 26,000 men were employed in mining, compared to only 4,100 women.

The average annual wages for men in the mining sector were $60,779, as opposed to $36,648 for women.

Within the mining sector, men dominate in high-paying jobs out in the field, like rotary drill operator, while women are more likely to hold lower-paying jobs in areas like administrative services.

Construction, which has been the fastest growing sector, employed about 24,000 men in 2007, compared to 3,400 women. The wage gap in construction was not as large as in mining, but was still significant - $33,166 for men compared to $23,635 for women.

As it turns out, men frequently outnumber women 4- or 5-to-1 in industries that pay the highest wages.

So frequently women don't chose to work in the blue-collar occupations with the highest wages. Or perhaps they feel they can't due to family obligations, or an absence of daycare.

Physical limitations may also be a factor, depending upon the individual, but a human resources person with Halliburton once noted that physical strength is not as important as it used to be, since lifts over a certain weight require two persons for safety reasons.

Programs like CLIMB Wyoming, an organization that helps train women for "nontraditional" jobs dominated by men, should be applauded for their efforts. They are chipping away at the gender wage gap and the employment dynamics that lie beneath it.

A person should be considered on his or her merits for any job, and should receive equal pay for equal work regardless of gender.

But if, of their own accord, women avoid blue-collar jobs that pay the highest wages, it's misleading to conclude that the Equality State is nothing of the sort.