In 2024, the gender wage gap widened for the second year in a row. Women working full-time earn 81 cents for every dollar a man earns. For Latina women it is 54 cents. This is not opinion. This is data. And we deserve better.
The pay gap is the difference between what men and women earn for doing the same or similar work. It is not fully explained by job choices or education. Even when women have advanced degrees, they earn less than men with only a college degree. The gap exists across every industry, every education level, and every state in the country. It is not a myth, not a misunderstanding, and not something women can fix by working harder. It is a structural problem that requires structural solutions.
Source: National Partnership for Women and Families 2024 · IWPR September 2025
Jobs dominated by women — teaching, caregiving, social work — pay significantly less than jobs dominated by men, even when they require equal skill and education.
Women's earnings drop an average of 4% per child while men's earnings increase. This is called the motherhood penalty and the fatherhood bonus.
50% of U.S. adults say a major reason for the gap is that employers treat women differently. Discrimination in hiring, promotion, and pay remains a documented reality.
When employees cannot legally discuss pay, women cannot identify when they are being underpaid. Pay secrecy is a tool that protects discriminatory practices.
When women enter a field in large numbers, wages in that field go down. When men enter a field in large numbers, wages go up. The job does not determine the pay. The gender of the workforce does.
Women with advanced degrees earn less per hour than men with only a college degree. A woman with a masters degree earns on average $15.66 less per hour than a man with a bachelors degree.
The gender wage gap for full-time workers actually worsened in 2024 for the second consecutive year. Men's earnings grew 3.7% while women's earnings remained largely flat.
States that have passed pay transparency and equal pay laws have seen measurable reductions in the wage gap. This is one of the most effective policy tools we have and we should push for it everywhere.
Sources: Economic Policy Institute 2025 · IWPR 2025 · Pew Research Center 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau 2024
Pay secrecy protects employers who underpay women. You have a legal right to discuss your pay with coworkers under the National Labor Relations Act. Use it. Share your salary. Ask others theirs.
Women who negotiate earn significantly more over their lifetime. Use Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and Levels.fyi to research market rates before every negotiation. Never accept the first offer without countering.
Ask your HR department to publish salary bands. Support coworkers who raise pay equity concerns. If your company retaliates against pay transparency conversations, that is illegal and can be reported to the EEOC.
This legislation would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, prohibit retaliation against workers who discuss wages, and require employers to justify pay differences. Find your rep at house.gov and contact them today.
The motherhood penalty exists largely because women bear unpaid caregiving responsibilities alone. Paid family leave for all workers is the single most effective policy for reducing the gender wage gap long term.
Create a private group of women in your industry or field and agree to share your salaries, titles, and companies. When women know what others earn, they negotiate more effectively and employers can no longer hide disparities.
Gather women and practice salary negotiations together. Role-play the conversation. Research the scripts. AAUW offers free salary negotiation training at aauw.org that you can bring to any group of women.
Share and celebrate companies that publish salary bands, conduct pay audits, and report pay equity data. Hold up the good examples. Make it a standard women demand before accepting jobs.
Many states still lack strong pay equity and pay transparency laws. Research your state's status at nwlc.org and organize women to write, call, or show up to demand stronger protections locally.
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