As Women’s History Month progresses in the U.S., the same cannot be said about the gender pay gap, which hasn’t been shrinking much in the last few years.
According to the recent AAUW publication, this year, Equal Pay Day – a meaningful date dedicated to increasing awareness and addressing the effects of gender-based wage disparities – is on March 25. That means that women in the U.S. had to work through all of 2024 and up to March 25, 2025, on average, to match the earnings men made in 2024 alone.
Statistics show that American women currently earn 83 cents for every dollar men make in full-time jobs and 75 cents for each dollar when including data for part-time and seasonal work. While this pay gap is true for the average female citizen, the situation with ethnic minorities is much worse.
Thus, women of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) origin would have to work till April 7th, to earn the amount of male earnings as of 2024. Working moms could reach that milestone on May 6th, representatives of LGBTQIA+ community – on June 17th, Black women – on July 10th, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) women – on August 28th, women of Latin American origin – on October 8th, disabled women – on October 23rd, and, finally, native American women – on November 18th.
Women in the U.S. have been earning more compared to men over time, especially Asian women. But recently, progress has slowed to just one or two cents more each year, and the latest data shows a small drop of one cent. Women ages 25 to 34 have a smaller wage gap than older or younger workers. In 2024, they earned 95 cents for every dollar men their age made, a 5-cent difference. For all female employees, 16 and older, the pay gap was larger – around 15 cents.
As for the factors that may play a role in the gender wage gap, Pew Research Center explains that while more women now work in high-paying jobs, like management, they are still overrepresented in lower-paying jobs compared to their share of the workforce. This may help explain why they earn less overall. Other factors, like gender discrimination, also play a role in the pay gap. Thus, half of the respondents of an October 2022 Pew Research Center survey point to the fact that women are still treated differently by employers.
Besides, parents with children younger than 18 in the household also state that the major reason for the pay gap is that women make different choices about how to balance work and family. Family responsibilities affect working men and women differently. Studies show that motherhood can lower women’s earnings, while fatherhood, on the contrary, can boost men’s pay. Both men and women feel strong pressure to support their families and succeed at work, but women, especially mothers, feel more pressure to handle household duties.
One of the few spheres where gender pay gap is reversed, surprisingly, is crypto. In 2024, it was reported that women working in the crypto segment earn, on average, 15% more than men, comprising a larger proportion of mid-level and senior positions. The only other registered example of a reversed pay gap is compensation received by producers and directors in the entertainment industry.
