Here’s how much less N.J. women earned compared to men — and why experts say it’s getting worse

At a raucous ceremony in Trenton three years ago, New Jersey leaped to the forefront of the fight for equal pay for women.

Surrounded by some of the state’s most powerful female lawmakers and advocates, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the strongest equal pay legislation in the nation. The new law said employers had to prove why men and women were getting paid differently for the same work — or women could go to court to get up to six years in back pay.

“Our wage gap will be closed and we are not going to wait around,” Murphy said at the bill-signing ceremony to cheers.

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