This month we celebrate Women’s Equality Day. Over the years, the observance of this day has expanded to recognize broader issues of gender equality and women’s rights. A significant disparity that persists is the gender pay gap between men and women despite efforts to narrow the gap. The gap is even more pronounced amongst women of color. There are several factors widening the gap in many industries, including lower representation of women in higher- paid roles and gender stereotypes about women’s proficiency in math and science. Closing the gap isn’t just about giving people equal salaries for the same roles, companies should also be more transparent about their pay policies and how they can better support women. Below are a few statistics.
Gender Pay Gap by Industry & Positions
Early data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE’s) 2023 Student Survey indicate that Class of 2023 male graduates had a median starting salary of $72,500; for women, the median starting salary falls at $52,500. This equates to a gap of 72%—widening more than 10% in recent years. (Source: “What Can Be Done to Shrink the Widening Gender Pay Gap?”)
According to Forbes, real estate brokers and sales agents have the largest gender pay gap, with men earning 60% more than their female counterparts (Source: Forbes Advisor).
Gender Pay Gap by Demographic
The pay gap varies among different demographics groups. This sheds light on the complex and interconnected factors that contribute to gender-based wage disparities.
Women earn 16% less than men on average (Source: Forbes Advisor).
Women of color are among the lowest-paid workers in rural areas, with rural Black and Hispanic women making just 56 cents for every dollar that rural white, non-Hispanic men make (Source: Forbes Advisor).
How Age Influences The Gap
A 20-year old woman just starting full-time, year-round work stands to lose $407,760 over a 40-year career compared to her male counterpart (Source: AAUW.org).
The U.S. Department of Labor reveals that Black women lost $42.7 billion in wages compared to white men in 2023, and Hispanic women lost $53.3 billion in wages. These losses are driven entirely by the fact that Black and Hispanic women are concentrated disproportionately in jobs that, on average, pay lower wages than those held by white men (Source: U.S. Department of Labor).
How Education Level Affects the Gender Pay Gap
Despite the belief that a higher education level equates to higher pay, this does not hold true for women when it comes to the gender gap.
Women with a bachelor's degree earn 4 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts with the same level of education. The pay gap between men and women only widens with more education (Source: U.S. Census Bureau).
A woman must complete at least one additional educational degree to earn as much as a man with less education (Source: U.S. Department of Labor).
The wage gap is larger for mothers and results in employment-related losses of more than $295,000 over a lifetime (Source: U.S Department of Labor).
How the Gender Pay Gap Affects Retirement
The gap has a significant impact on women's retirement due the lower earning and higher share of part-time work.
Women contribute 30% less than men to their retirement accounts (Source: Census Bureau).
On average, women receive 20% less than men in Social Security benefits (Source: Census Bureau).
This Women’s Equality Day if you are in a leadership position we have a call to action for you. Please ensure that your organization not only has policies in place, but also practices that are implemented that create a culture and yield measurable results demonstrating your commitment to advancing women’s equality.