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Many Americans struggle to save for retirement, but the gender wage gap makes the prospects for women even more dire: The average woman must save $1.25 for every $1 a man invests to build an equivalent nest egg, a new study shows.

For every $1 men earned in 2015, women, on average, made 80 cents, up from 77.5 cents in 2007, according to an analysis of the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. While pay parity remains elusive, the gap is closing more in some states than in others, which translates into a smaller shortfall in retirement savings.

For example, in New York, the state with the narrowest wage gap, women must sock away $1.13 for every $1 a man puts in a 401(k), traditional individual retirement account,聽or other investment plan to reach the same amount. In Oklahoma 鈥� the state where women鈥檚 wages lost the most ground since 2007 鈥� women would need to set aside $1.37 for every $1 a man saves to catch up,聽found.

Both men and women struggle to save for retirement. The National Retirement Risk Index suggests roughly half of American families aren鈥檛 saving enough to maintain their standard of living once they鈥檝e retired. But the wage gap can make the challenge more pronounced for women, who live, on average, five years longer than men.

So, what鈥檚 behind the wage gap? Research suggests the issue isn鈥檛 that a woman working a particular job makes less than her male colleague; rather, it鈥檚 that the odds are greater that he will rise to upper management and earn more.

As well, a聽聽suggests women are far more likely to take career breaks for child and elder care, which limits the number of women working in more time-consuming jobs with little flexibility for family needs.

A checklist for saving for retirement

To help keep the wage gap from expanding into an even larger retirement shortfall, try these suggestions to maximize savings:

• Get the full match on your workplace retirement account.聽Employers often will match 鈥� up to a limited amount 鈥� the cash you contribute to a workplace retirement account, such as a 401(k) or 403(b). Your contributions are made pretax, directly from your paycheck.
• Set up a Roth or traditional IRA.聽IRAs also offer tax benefits to savers who qualify. If you are married and file taxes jointly, a non-working spouse can open and contribute to an IRA based on the working spouse鈥檚 income. A聽聽can show you how much you can contribute.
• Use a taxable account.聽After maxing out tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts, you can invest further in the stock market鈥檚 long-term earning power. While there is always some degree of uncertainty when it comes to stocks, taking an appropriate risk can help the dollars you save work harder.

What鈥檚 the gap in your state?

Here are the states where women鈥檚 incomes average the most 鈥� or fewest 鈥� cents on the dollar compared with men, and where the pay gap saw the most 鈥� or least 鈥斅爄mprovement. If your state isn鈥檛 on one of these lists, you can聽.

10 states with the smallest wage gaps in 2015

1. 聽聽聽聽New York (Women made 88.7 cents for each $1 men earned)
2. 聽聽聽聽Delaware (88.5 cents)
3. 聽聽聽聽Florida (86.6 cents)
4. 聽聽聽聽North Carolina (85.9 cents)
5. 聽聽聽聽Rhode Island (85.8 cents)
6. 聽聽聽聽California (85.7 cents)
7. 聽聽聽聽New Mexico (84.6 cents)
8. 聽聽聽聽Hawaii (84.1 cents)
9. 聽聽聽聽Vermont (83.8 cents)
10. 聽 聽 Nevada (83.7 cents)

10 states with the largest wage gaps in 2015

1. 聽聽聽聽Wyoming (Women made 64.4 cents for each $1 men earned)
2. 聽聽聽聽Louisiana (68 cents)
3. 聽聽聽聽West Virginia (70.6 cents)
4. 聽聽聽聽Utah (71.1 cents)
5. 聽聽聽聽North Dakota (71.1 cents)
6. 聽聽聽聽Montana (72.5 cents)
7. 聽聽聽聽Oklahoma (73.2 cents)
8. 聽聽聽聽Idaho (73.5 cents)
9. 聽聽聽聽Michigan (74.3 cents)
10. 聽 聽 Ohio 聽(74.7 cents)

10 states where the wage gap improved the most, 2007-2015

1. 聽聽聽聽Rhode Island: (Wage gap shrunk 10.96%)
2. 聽聽聽聽Delaware: (10.19%)
3. 聽聽聽聽New Hampshire: (9.87%)
4. 聽聽聽聽Kentucky: (9.28%)
5. 聽聽聽聽Connecticut: (9.00%)
6. 聽聽聽聽Florida: (8.41%)
7. 聽聽聽聽Illinois: (7.96%)
8. 聽聽聽聽South Carolina: (7.83%)
9. 聽聽聽聽New York: (7.76%)
10. 聽 聽New Mexico: (7.55%)

10 states where the wage gap improved the least, 2007-2015

1. 聽聽聽聽Oklahoma (Wage gap grew 5.57%)
2. 聽聽聽聽Utah (grew 1.35%)
3. 聽聽聽聽Vermont (grew 0.40%)
4. 聽聽聽聽Texas (no change)
5. 聽聽聽聽Idaho (Wage gap shrunk 0.45%)
6. 聽聽聽聽Ohio (shrunk 0.99%)
7. 聽聽聽聽Nebraska (shrunk 1.21%)
8. 聽聽聽聽Georgia (shrunk 1.28%)
9. 聽 聽 Virginia (shrunk 1.37%)
10. 聽 聽 Colorado (shrunk 1.37%)

Kevin Voigt is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽kevin@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽. Jonathan Todd is a data analyst at NerdWallet. Email:听箩辞苍补迟丑补苍.迟辞诲诲蔼苍别谤诲飞补濒濒别迟.肠辞尘.

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