U.S. Gender Pay Gap Widens for Second Consecutive Year
Equal Pay Day, observed annually to mark how far into the new year women must work to earn what men earned the previous year, fell on March 26 this year. This date is one day later than in 2025.
Widening Pay Gap
For the second consecutive year, the gender pay gap in the U.S. has widened. According to recent data from the Census Bureau, women working full-time, year-round, now earn 81 cents for every dollar men earn. This represents a decrease from 83 cents a year prior and 84 cents the year before that.
This marks the first time the wage gap has widened consecutively since the 1960s, as stated by Deborah Vagins, director of the Equal Pay Today coalition.
The coalition organizes nine annual observances, including specific dates for Black Women's Equal Pay Day (July 21), Moms' Equal Pay Day (August 6), and Latina Equal Pay Day (October 8).
Factors and Policy Efforts
The Census data used for these calculations is from 2024, during Joe Biden's presidency. The Census Bureau attributes the growing gap partly to men's median income increasing by 3.7% between 2023 and 2024, while women's median income remained stagnant.
The Biden administration supported equal pay initiatives and implemented measures to narrow the wage gap for federal workers and contractors. However, federal pay transparency laws, which would have required employers to provide salary ranges in job postings and prohibited inquiries into candidates' pay histories, faced resistance from Congress.
While some states have enacted such laws, studies on their effectiveness in reducing inequities and increasing women's wages have shown mixed results. Vagins emphasized the difficulty of closing the wage gap without such legislation.
Data Collection Challenges
Under the Obama administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) required employers to submit pay data broken down by sex, ethnicity, and race. This data revealed significant pay disparities and occupational segregation across various fields. The first Trump administration halted this initiative after two years, citing the burden on employers. Advocates hope for a change in Congress to revive this data collection, asserting that measuring disparities is crucial for addressing them.
Impact of the Wage Gap
No single factor accounts for the wage gap; occupational segregation is a significant contributor. Women are overrepresented in low-wage sectors such as restaurants, hotel housekeeping, and child care. Disparities also exist within occupations, with male doctors, for example, earning more than female doctors across all specialties.
Vagins noted that wage gaps have long-lasting impacts on women's lives, affecting retirement savings, Social Security benefits, and the ability to build generational wealth for their families.