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The gender gap in pay has slightly narrowed in the United States over the past 20 years or so. In 2024, women earned an average of 85% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. In 2003, women earned 81% as much as men.

As has long been the case, the wage gap is smaller for workers ages 25 to 34 than for all workers 16 and older. In 2024, women 25 to 34 earned an average of 95 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same age group - a 5-cent gap. By comparison, the gender pay gap among workers of all ages that year was 15 cents.

How we did this

The gender pay gap measures the difference in median hourly earnings between men and women who work full or part time in the United States. Pew Research Center's estimate of the pay gap is based on an analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) monthly outgoing rotation group files ( IPUMS) from January 1982 to December 2024, combined to create annual files. To understand how we calculate the gender pay gap, read our 2013 post, "How Pew Research Center measured the gender pay gap."

In addition to findings about the gender wage gap, this analysis includes information from a Pew Research Center survey about the perceived reasons for the pay gap, as well as the pressures and career goals of U.S. men and women. The survey was conducted among 5,098 adults and includes a subset of questions asked only for 2,048 adults who are employed part time or full time, from Oct. 10-16, 2022.

Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center's American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP's methodology.

Here are the questions used in this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.

While the gender pay gap has not changed a lot since 2003, it has narrowed considerably when looking at the longer term, both among all workers 16 and older and among those 25 to 34. The estimated 15-cent gender pay gap among all workers in 2024 was down from 35 cents in 1982. And the 5-cent gap among workers ages 25 to 34 in 2024 was down from a 26-cent gap.

The U.S. Census Bureau has also analyzed the gender pay gap, though its analysis looks only at full-time workers (as opposed to full- and part-time workers). In 2023, full-time, year-round working women earned 83% of what their male counterparts earned, according to the Census Bureau's most recent analysis.

Much of the gender pay gap has been explained by measurable factors such as educational attainment, occupational segregation and work experience. The narrowing of the gap over the long term is attributable in large part to gains women have made in each of these dimensions.

Even though women have increased their presence in higher-paying jobs traditionally dominated by men, such as professional and managerial positions, women as a whole continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying occupations relative to their share of the workforce. This may contribute to gender differences in pay.

Other factors that are difficult to measure, including gender discrimination, may also contribute to the ongoing wage discrepancy.

Perceived reasons for the gender wage gap

When asked about the factors that may play a role in the gender wage gap, half of U.S. adults point to women being treated differently by employers as a major reason, according to an October 2022 Pew Research Center survey. Smaller shares point to women making different choices about how to balance work and family (42%) and working in jobs that pay less (34%).

There are some notable differences between men and women in views of what's behind the gender wage gap. Women are much more likely than men (61% vs. 37%) to say a major reason for the gap is that employers treat women differently. And while 45% of women say a major factor is that women make different choices about how to balance work and family, men are slightly less likely to hold that view (40% say this).

Parents with children younger than 18 in the household are more likely than those who don't have young kids at home (48% vs. 40%) to say a major reason for the pay gap is the choices that women make about how to balance family and work. On this question, differences by parental status are evident among both men and women.

Views about reasons for the gender wage gap also differ by party.

About two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (68%) say a major factor behind wage differences is that employers treat women differently, but far fewer Republicans and Republican leaners (30%) say the same.

Conversely, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say women's choices about how to balance family and work (50% vs. 36%) and their tendency to work in jobs that pay less (39% vs. 30%) are major reasons why women earn less than men.

Democratic and Republican women are more likely than their male counterparts in each party to say a major reason for the gender wage gap is that employers treat women differently. About three-quarters of Democratic women (76%) say this, compared with 59% of Democratic men.

And while 43% of Republican women say unequal treatment by employers is a major reason for the gender wage gap, just 18% of GOP men share that view.

Pressures facing working women and men

Family caregiving responsibilities bring different pressures for working women and men, and research has shown that being a mother can reduce women's earnings, while fatherhood can increase men's earnings.

Employed women and men are about equally likely to say they feel a great deal of pressure to support their family financially and to be successful in their jobs and careers, according to the Center's October survey. But women, and particularly working mothers, are more likely than men to say they feel a great deal of pressure to focus on responsibilities at home.

About half of employed women (48%) report feeling a great deal of pressure to focus on their responsibilities at home, compared with 35% of employed men. Among working mothers with children younger than 18 in the household, two-thirds (67%) say the same, compared with 45% of working dads.

When it comes to supporting their family financially, similar shares of working moms and dads (57% vs. 62%) report they feel a great deal of pressure, but this is driven mainly by the large share of unmarried working mothers who say they feel a great deal of pressure in this regard (77%).

Among those who are married, working dads are far more likely than working moms (60% vs. 43%) to say they feel a great deal of pressure to support their family financially. (There were not enough unmarried working fathers in the sample to analyze separately.)

About four-in-ten working parents say they feel a great deal of pressure to be successful at their job or career. These findings don't differ by gender.

Gender differences in job roles, aspirations

Overall, a quarter of employed U.S. adults say they are currently the boss or one of the top managers where they work, according to the Center's survey. Another 33% say they are not currently the boss but would like to be in the future, while 41% are not and do not aspire to be the boss or one of the top managers.

Men are more likely than women to be a boss or a top manager where they work (28% vs. 21%). This is especially the case among employed fathers, 35% of whom say they are the boss or one of the top managers where they work. (The varying attitudes between fathers and men without children at least partly reflect differences in marital status and educational attainment between the two groups.)

In addition to being less likely than men to say they are currently the boss or a top manager at work, women are also more likely to say they wouldn't want to be in this type of position in the future. More than four-in-ten employed women (46%) say this, compared with 37% of men. Similar shares of men (35%) and women (31%) say they are not currently the boss but would like to be one day. These patterns are similar among parents.
Note: This is an update of a post published on March 22, 2019. Anna Brown, a research methodologist, and Amanda Barroso, a former writer and editor, contributed to an earlier version of this analysis. Here are the questions used in this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.

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Gender pay gap in U.S. has narrowed slightly over 2 decades

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In 2024, women earned an average of 85% of what men earned, according to an analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers.

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Women of Color and the Wage Gap

A personal care assistant leaves for work to care for an elderly woman, March 2020, in Massachusetts. (Getty/Lane Turner/Globe Staff)

As breadwinners, workers, and caregivers, women of color have been the longtime yet unsung backbone of the U.S. economy. This integral role has been front and center during the devastating COVID-19 pandemic that has wreaked economic havoc in every corner of the country and continues to have lingering effects. Not only has the United States relied on women of color as essential workers to help keep the economy running, provide much-needed services, and sustain families throughout the pandemic, but it has also watched these women shoulder disproportionate job losses and caregiving challenges-all while they are earning just a fraction of what their white and male counterparts earn.

The stubborn resilience of the gender wage gap, coupled with intersecting racial bias in the workplace, means that many women of color are perpetually underpaid, and these losses accumulate and grow over time. As a result, women of color are less able to build savings, withstand economic downturns, and achieve some measure of economic stability. The U.S. census data released in September confirmed that the harshest effects of the gender wage gap continue to fall on women of color,¹ with many of them experiencing the largest gender pay gaps among all workers. It is long overdue for the federal government to pursue measures that strengthen equal pay protections, combat bias, and promote worker retention-especially among women workers-which are all critical to reducing economic inequality and securing economic stability for women of color and their families.

This issue brief examines the gender wage gaps experienced by women of different racial and ethnic groups, explores some of the factors driving those gaps, and recommends policy solutions that Congress and the Biden administration must implement to help narrow these gaps.

See also

Analyzing the gender wage gaps for women of color

There has never been a time in this country when there has not been a wage gap that exists along intersecting gender and racial lines.

When looking at women's wages across broad racial and ethnic categories among full-time, year-round workers, Hispanic women experience the largest pay gap, having earned just 57 cents for every $1 earned by white, non-Hispanic men in 2020. (see Figure 1) Black women also experience wide pay gaps, with data on Black women alone revealing that-despite consistently having some of the highest labor force participation rates⁵-they earned just 64 cents for every $1 earned by white, non-Hispanic men in 2020. This number dips slightly to 63 cents, reflecting a slightly larger wage gap, when data on multiracial Black women-meaning Black women who also identify with another racial category-are included in the analysis. The data that include multiracial Black women are referred to as data on Black women alone or in combination. These gaps for Hispanic and Black women are much wider than the still-large gap experienced by white, non-Hispanic women, who earned 79 cents for every $1 earned by their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts in 2020.

A gender pay gap amounts to more than just a few cents lost; it compounds over time, leading to significant long-term disparities for women of color. Over the course of a 40-year career, Black women lose an estimated $964,400 to the wage gap, Native American women lose $986,240, Hispanic women lose $1,163,920, and AAPI women lose $400,000-but likely with significant differences among subpopulations.⁹

The wage gaps for women of color are calculated using white, non-Hispanic men as the benchmark for comparison because they historically have had the highest wages; held the majority of the positions of power and leadership within workplace and institutional settings; and reflected the dominant perception of the most valuable worker in a society where racial, ethnic, and gender biases continue to exist and influence attitudes about work. White, non-Hispanic men workers also tend to shoulder fewer caregiving responsibilities than women, especially women of color.¹⁰ Further, it has historically been white people-particularly white, heterosexual cisgender men-whose needs and interests have consistently been prioritized over basically all others, including those of women and people of color.¹¹ By instead centering and prioritizing women of color, policymakers can pinpoint some of the widest economic disparities, target policy interventions, and lift all boats along the way. Closing the gender wage gap is not zero-sum.

The gender wage gap in 2020 through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic

The latest gender wage gap figures of the overall ratio of women's to men's earnings among full-time, year-round workers-83 cents in 2020-are a very slight reduction from 82 cents in 2020.¹² However, this metric masks the considerable disruption to the economic participation and security of women, and particularly women of color, in 2020. The sizable job losses among women in the low-paid services sector meant that their wages were not counted in the wage gap analysis, likely making the overall gap smaller than it would have been if more lower-paid workers were counted.

Every year, the gender wage gap is calculated by finding the ratio of women's to men's median earnings for full-time, year-round workers and then taking the difference. This means that by definition, the gender wage gap fails to capture the experiences of those who do not work both full-time and year-round. While this is always an issue with this metric, it is a particular problem for 2020 given the COVID-19 pandemic's unprecedented disruption to the labor market. Compared with 2019, the number of women and men full-time, year-round workers declined by 13.7 million, with women of color, particularly Hispanic and Asian women, experiencing some of the largest declines as a proportion of their 2019 employment figures. (see Figure 3) In 2020, job losses and reductions in hours worked were concentrated in low-wage jobs,¹³ which, due to occupational segregation, are disproportionately occupied by women of color.¹⁴ Basically, with fewer low-wage women counted in the gender wage gap, it has slightly reduced.

Drivers of the gender wage gaps for women of color

Numerous factors drive the pay differences manifested in the gender wage gap. Groundbreaking research by economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn estimated that 62 percent of the wage gap could be explained by factors including, but not limited to, differences in industries or jobs worked, differences in hours worked, and differences in years of experience.¹⁵ However, the remaining 38 percent of the gap is not easily explained by such distinct, quantifiable factors. Blau and Kahn, as well as other researchers, attribute this remaining portion of the gap to factors such as the effects of discrimination.¹⁶ Women of color, whose intersectional realities can spur multiple forms of discrimination, may experience a larger pay gap in part because they face a combination of biases with escalating effects. Below is an examination of three major drivers of the gender wage gaps for women of color: jobs worked, hours worked, and discrimination.

Jobs worked

Women of color disproportionately work in jobs within the service, care, and domestic work sectors-jobs with historically low pay. This is due to occupational segregation, which is the funneling of women and men into different jobs based on gender and racial norms and expectations. Jobs that have historically had majority-women workforces, such as registered nurses and maids and housekeeping cleaners, tend to offer lower pay and fewer benefits, in part by virtue of being "women's work."¹⁷ The jobs women of color are most likely to work in largely follow this pattern. (see Figure 4)

In addition, women of color are significantly overrepresented in the low-wage workforce compared with their share of the overall workforce: Latinas' share of the low-paid workforce is more than twice as large as their share of the overall workforce; Native American women's share is two times as large; Black women's share is 1.5 times as large; and AAPI women's share is 1.3 times as large.¹⁸

The argument that women of color simply choose to work in jobs with low pay and few benefits vastly oversimplifies how women of color end up in the jobs that they hold. Where choice may be involved, jobs in the service and care industries may be the jobs most readily available. These jobs, with work shifts at different times of the day and night, may enable women to cobble together multiple jobs around their schedules to ensure that they can cover their own caregiving responsibilities, which women of color disproportionately shoulder. In addition, occupational segregation and the clustering of women of color into certain types of roles is fueled by longstanding structural and cultural biases that embrace narrowly defined job pathways for women of color, stalling their upward mobility and access to the highest-paying occupations and industries. And while education can help narrow the gender wage gap somewhat, it is not the silver bullet that many think it is. At every level of educational attainment, women still experience a pay gap compared with their men counterparts.¹⁹ Women also hold two-thirds of the nation's outstanding student loan debt, and Black women hold the most of any group-further limiting their economic security.²⁰

Hours worked

Women of color tend to work fewer hours of paid work and are more likely to work part time to accommodate caregiving and other unpaid obligations. Both factors contribute to the wage gap because they translate to women of color earning lower hourly wages than full-time workers and men. Women of color are slightly less likely than white women to work 45 hours or more per week and are nearly half as likely as men to do so. (see Figure 5)

At the same time, women of color are increasingly their families' breadwinners, meaning that families of color depend on these mothers' earnings to survive.²⁴ Sixty-eight percent of Black mothers are the primary or sole breadwinners for their families-the highest rate of any racial group.²⁵ For Native American mothers, the rate of primary or sole breadwinners is 55 percent, for multiracial mothers it's 53 percent, and for Latinas it's 41 percent.²⁶ White mothers and AAPI mothers are the least likely to be primary or sole breadwinners for their families at 37 percent and 30 percent, respectively.²⁷ These breadwinners, like many women workers more broadly, must manage both the financial and care needs of their families while also navigating low pay and other workplace inequities.

Discrimination

Many factors that contribute to the gender wage gap, including jobs and hours worked, can be directly and indirectly influenced by discrimination. Sexism, racism, and other forms of bias individually or in combination can influence the industries where women of color are welcomed and the hiring decisions that are made. These same forces also place the brunt of caregiving, housework, and other unpaid responsibilities disproportionately on women, particularly women of color. So, while Blau and Kahn's estimates are extremely helpful for understanding the underlying causes of the gender wage gap, it is essential to recognize the outsize impacts of bias and discrimination at play that likely drive more than just the estimated 38 percent of the gender wage gap. This is especially true for women of color, who experience biases and discrimination at the intersection of multiple identities, including but not limited to gender, race, ethnicity, motherhood status, and immigration status.

How to narrow the gender wage gaps for women of color

At the current pace and without further and comprehensive action on equal pay, Black and Hispanic women in the United States are not projected to reach pay parity with white men until 2133 and 2220, respectively.²⁸ To begin to close these gender wage gaps, Congress, the Biden administration, and other policymakers must take strong, concerted action to promote equal pay.

See also

Other complementary policies are also needed to narrow the gender wage gap. These include robust work-family policies in the reconciliation package, such as providing comprehensive paid family and medical leave and affordable child care.³² In addition, policies that support collective organizing, including the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, must be advanced given evidence that unionization can help narrow gender wage gaps within a workplace.³³ Finally, it is critical to explore new ways to combat entrenched racism, sexism, and other biases that continue to harm women of color. Only then can America truly close the gender wage gap for all women in this country.

Conclusion

Certain drivers of the gender wage gap have been front and center during the pandemic and economic recovery, such as reduced hours, prolonged time out of the workforce to manage caregiving responsibilities, and ever-present discrimination and bias. Pandemic or not, women of color-indeed, all workers-deserve to be valued and compensated fairly. Simply put, however, they never have been.

The significantly wider gender wage gaps for most women of color indicate just how much further they must go to reach economic, racial, and gender equity. It is essential to intentionally center women of color in discussions about the economy, earnings, and the wage gap to ensure that their experiences are not only recognized but also that the inequities they experience are remedied. As breadwinners, workers, and caregivers, women of color are instrumental in keeping the U.S. economy afloat. It's about time they have equal pay.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

Robin Bleiweis

Former Research Associate, Women's Economic Security

Jocelyn Frye

Former Senior Fellow

Director of Economic Analysis, Inclusive Economy

The Women's Initiative develops robust, progressive policies and solutions to ensure all women can participate in the economy and live healthy, productive lives.

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Women of Color and the Wage Gap As breadwinners, workers, and caregivers, women of color have been the longtime yet unsung backbone of the U.S. economy. This integral role has been front and center during the devastating COVID-19 pandemic that has wreaked economic havoc in every corner of the country and continues to have lingering effects.

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Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project

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The gender pay gap - the difference between the earnings of men and women - has barely closed in the United States in the past two decades. In 2022, American women typically earned 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. That was about the same as in 2002, when they earned 80 cents to the dollar. The slow pace at which the gender pay gap has narrowed this century contrasts sharply with the progress in the preceding two decades: In 1982, women earned just 65 cents to each dollar earned by men.

There is no single explanation for why progress toward narrowing the pay gap has all but stalled in the 21st century. Women generally begin their careers closer to wage parity with men, but they lose ground as they age and progress through their work lives, a pattern that has remained consistent over time. The pay gap persists even though women today are more likely than men to have graduated from college. In fact, the pay gap between college-educated women and men is not any narrower than the one between women and men who do not have a college degree. This points to the dominant role of other factors that still set women back or give men an advantage.

One of these factors is parenthood. Mothers ages 25 to 44 are less likely to be in the labor force than women of the same age who do not have children at home, and they tend to work fewer hours each week when employed. This can reduce the earnings of some mothers, although evidence suggests the effect is either modest overall or short-lived for many. On the other hand, fathers are more likely to be in the labor force - and to work more hours each week - than men without children at home. This is linked to an increase in the pay of fathers - a phenomenon referred to as the " fatherhood wage premium " - and tends to widen the gender pay gap.
Related: Gender pay gap in U.S. hasn't changed much in two decades
Family needs can also influence the types of jobs women and men pursue, contributing to gender segregation across occupations. Differential treatment of women, including gender stereotypes and discrimination, may also play a role. And the gender wage gap varies widely by race and ethnicity.

How the gender pay gap increases with age

Younger women - those ages 25 to 34 and early in their work lives - have edged closer to wage parity with men in recent years. Starting in 2007, their earnings have consistently stood at about 90 cents to the dollar or more compared with men of the same age. But even as pay parity might appear in reach for women at the start of their careers, the wage gap tends to increase as they age.

Consider, for example, women who were ages 25 to 34 in 2010. In that year, they earned 92% as much as men their age, compared with 83% for women overall. But by 2022, this group of women, now ages 37 to 46, earned only 84% as much as men of the same age. This pattern repeats itself for groups of women who were ages 25 to 34 in earlier years - say, 2005 or 2000 - and it may well be the future for women entering the workforce now.

A good share of the increase in the gender pay gap takes place when women are between the ages of 35 and 44. In 2022, women ages 25 to 34 earned about 92% as much as men of the same ages, but women ages 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 earned 83% as much. The ratio dropped to 79% among those ages 55 to 64. This general pattern has not changed in at least four decades.

The increase in the pay gap coincides with the age at which women are more likely to have children under 18 at home. In 2022, 40% of employed women ages 25 to 34 had at least one child at home. The same was true for 66% of women ages 35 to 44 but for fewer - 39% - among women ages 45 to 54. Only 6% of employed women ages 55 to 64 had children at home in 2022.

Similarly, the share of employed men with children at home peaks between the ages of 35 to 44, standing at 58% in 2022. This is also when fathers tend to receive higher pay, even as the pay of employed mothers in same age group is unaffected.

Mothers with children at home tend to be less engaged with the workplace, while fathers are more active

Parenthood leads some women to put their careers on hold, whether by choice or necessity, but it has the opposite effect among men. In 2022, 70% of mothers ages 25 to 34 had a job or were looking for one, compared with 84% of women of the same age without children at home. This amounted to the withdrawal of 1.4 million younger mothers from the workforce. Moreover, when they are employed, younger mothers tend to put in a shorter workweek - by two hours per week, on average - than other women their age. Reduced engagement with the workplace among younger mothers is also a long-running phenomenon.

Fathers, however, are more likely to hold a job or be looking for one than men who don't have children at home, and this is true throughout the prime of their working years, from ages 25 to 54. Among those who do have a job, fathers also work a bit more each week, on average, than men who do not have children at home.

As a result, the gender gap in workplace activity is greater among those who have children at home than among those who do not. For example, among those ages 35 to 44, 94% of fathers are active in the workforce, compared with 75% of mothers - a gap of 19 percentage points. But among those with no children at home in this age group, 84% of men and 78% of women are active in the workforce - a gap of 6 points.

These patterns contribute to the gap in workplace activity between men and women overall. As of 2022, 68% of men ages 16 and older - with or without children at home - are either employed or seeking employment. That compares with 57% of women, a difference of 11 percentage points. This gap was as wide as 24 points in 1982, but it narrowed to 14 points by 2002. Men overall also worked about three hours more per week at a job than women in 2022, on average, down from a gap of about six hours per week in 1982.

Employed mothers earn about the same as similarly educated women without children at home; both groups earn less than fathers

Parenthood affects the hourly earnings of employed women and men in unexpected ways. While employed mothers overall appear to earn less than employed women without children at home, the gap is driven mainly by differences in educational attainment between the two groups. Among women with similar levels of education, there is little gap in the earnings of mothers and non-mothers. However, fathers earn more than other workers, including other men without children at home, regardless of education level. This phenomenon - known as the fatherhood wage premium - is one of the main ways that parenthood affects the gender pay gap among employed workers.

Motherhood does have important effects on the potential earnings of women. Women who experience breaks in their careers after becoming mothers sacrifice at least some of their earnings. Some mothers may never work for pay after having children, passing on earnings altogether. But it is difficult to know what the earnings of mothers might have been and, as a result, it is hard to know for certain what the full effect of motherhood is on women's earnings. Estimates suggest that motherhood may account for much of the current shortfall in the earnings potential of women overall.

Among employed men and women, the impact of parenting is felt most among those ages 25 to 54, when they are most likely to have children under 18 at home. In 2022, mothers ages 25 to 34 earned 85% as much as fathers that age, but women without children at home earned 97% as much as fathers. In contrast, employed women ages 35 to 44 - with or without children - both earned about 80% as much as fathers. The table turns for women ages 45 to 54, with mothers earning more than women with no children at home. Among those ages 35 to 44 or 45 to 54, men without children earned only 84% as much as fathers.

But these patterns in the earnings of employed mothers and women with no children at home are influenced greatly by differences in education levels between the two. Among employed women ages 25 to 34, some 61% of women without children at home had a bachelor's degree or higher level of education in 2022, compared with 37% of mothers. It follows that among women ages 25 to 34, those without children at home (a more highly educated group, on average) earned more than women with at least one child at home. Conversely, employed mothers ages 45 to 54 were more likely than other women to have at least a bachelor's degree - 58% vs. 42%. For that reason, mothers ages 45 to 54 earned more than women without children.

When the earnings of mothers are compared with those of women without children at home who have the same level of education, the differences either narrow or go away. Among employed women ages 25 to 34 with at least a bachelor's degree, both mothers and women without children at home earned 80% as much as fathers in 2022. Among women ages 25 to 34 with a high school diploma and no further education, mothers earned 79% as much as fathers and women with no children at home earned 84% as much. The narrowing of the gap in earnings of mothers and women without children at home after controlling for education level also extends to other age groups.

Thus, among the employed, the effect of parenthood on the gender pay gap does not seem to be driven by a decrease in mothers' earnings relative to women without children at home. Instead, the widening of the pay gap with parenthood appears to be driven more by an increase in the earnings of fathers. Fathers ages 25 to 54 not only earn more than mothers the same age, they also earn more than men with no children at home. Nonetheless, men without children at home still earn more than women with or without children at home.

Although there is little gap in the earnings of employed mothers and women with no children at home who have the same level of education, there is a lingering gap in workplace engagement between the two groups. Whether they had at least a bachelor's degree or were high school graduates, mothers ages 25 to 34 are less likely to hold a job or be looking for one. Similarly, younger mothers on average work fewer hours than women without children at home each week, regardless of their education level. The opposite is true for fathers compared with men without children at home.

Progress in closing the gender pay gap has slowed despite gains in women's education

The share of women with at least a bachelor's degree has increased steadily since 1982 - and faster than among men. In 1982, 20% of employed women ages 25 and older had a bachelor's degree or higher level of education, compared with 26% of employed men. By 2022, 48% of employed women had at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 41% of men. Still, women did not see the pay gap close to the same extent from 2002 to 2022 as they did from 1982 to 2002.

In part, this may be linked to how the gains from going to college have changed in recent decades, for women and men alike. The college wage premium - the boost in earnings workers get from a college degree - increased rapidly during the 1980s. But the rise in the premium slowed down over time and came to a halt around 2010. This likely reduced the relative growth in the earnings of women.

Although gains in education have raised the average earnings of women and have narrowed the gender pay gap overall, college-educated women are no closer to wage parity with their male counterparts than other women. In 2022, women with at least a bachelor's degree earned 79% as much as men who were college graduates, and women who were high school graduates earned 81% as much as men with the same level of education. This underscores the challenges faced by women of all education levels in closing the pay gap.

Notably, the gender wage gap has closed more among workers without a four-year college degree than among those who do have a bachelor's degree or more education. For example, the wage gap for women without a high school diploma narrowed from 62% in 1982 to 83% in 2022 relative to men at the same education level. But it closed only from 69% to 79% among bachelor's degree holders over the same period. This is because only men with at least a bachelor's degree experienced positive wage growth from 1982 to 2022; all other men saw their real wages decrease. Meanwhile, the real earnings of women increased regardless of their level of education.

As women have improved their level of education in recent decades, they've also increased their share of employment in higher-paying occupations, such as managerial, business and finance, legal, and computer, science and engineering (STEM) occupations. In 1982, women accounted for only 26% of employment in managerial occupations. By 2022, their share had risen to 40%. Women also substantially increased their presence in social, arts and media occupations. Over the same period, the shares of women in several lower-paying fields, such as administrative support jobs and food preparation and serving occupations, fell significantly.

Even so, women are still underrepresented in managerial and STEM occupations - along with construction, repair and production, and transportation occupations - when compared with their share of employment overall. And there has been virtually no change in the degree to which women are overrepresented in education, health care, and personal care and services occupations - the last of which are lower paying than the average across all occupations. The distribution of women and men across occupations remains one of the drivers of the gender pay gap. But the degree to which this distribution is the result of personal choices or gender stereotypes is not entirely clear.

Gender pay gap differs widely by race and ethnicity

Looking across racial and ethnic groups, a wide gulf separates the earnings of Black and Hispanic women from the earnings of White men. In 2022, Black women earned 70% as much as White men and Hispanic women earned only 65% as much. The ratio for White women stood at 83%, about the same as the earnings gap overall, while Asian women were closer to parity with White men, making 93% as much.

The pay gap narrowed for all groups of women from 1982 to 2022, but more so for White women than for Black and Hispanic women. The earnings gap for Asian women narrowed by about 17 percentage points from 2002 to 2022, but data for this group is not available for 1982.

To some extent, the gender wage gap varies by race and ethnicity because of differences in education, experience, occupation and other factors that drive the gender wage gap for women overall. But researchers have uncovered new evidence of hiring discrimination against various racial and ethnic groups, along with discrimination against other groups, such as LGBTQ and disabled workers. Discrimination in hiring may feed into differences in earnings by shutting out workers from opportunities.

Broader economic forces may impact men's and women's earnings in different ways

Changes in the gender pay gap are also shaped by economic factors that sometimes drive men's and women's earnings in distinctive ways. Because men and women tend to work in different types of jobs and industries, their earnings may respond differently to external pressures.

More specifically, men's earnings essentially didn't change from 1982 to 2002. Potential reasons for that include a more rapid decline in union membership among men, a shift away from jobs calling for more physical skills, and global competition that sharply reduced employment in manufacturing in the 1980s. At the same time, women's earnings increased substantially as they raised their level of education and shifted toward higher-paying occupations.

But in some ways, the economic climate has proved less favorable for women this century. For reasons that are not entirely clear, women's employment was slower to recover from the Great Recession of 2007-2009. More recently, the COVID-19 recession took on the moniker " she-cession" because of the pressure on jobs disproportionately held by women. Amid a broader slowdown in earnings growth from 2000 to 2015, the increase in women's earnings from 2002 to 2022 was not much greater than the increase in men's earnings, limiting the closure in the gender pay gap over the period.

What's next for the gender pay gap?

Higher education, a shift to higher-paying occupations and more labor market experience have helped women narrow the gender pay gap since 1982. But even as women have continued to outpace men in educational attainment, the pay gap has been stuck in a holding pattern since 2002, ranging from 80 to 85 cents to the dollar.

More sustained progress in closing the pay gap may depend on deeper changes in societal and cultural norms and in workplace flexibility that affect how men and women balance their careers and family lives. Even in countries that have taken the lead in implementing family-friendly policies, such as Denmark, parenthood continues to drive a significant wedge in the earnings of men and women. New research suggests that family-friendly policies in the U.S. may be keeping the pay gap from closing. Gender stereotypes and discrimination, though difficult to quantify, also appear to be among the "last-mile" hurdles impeding further progress.

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The pay gap between men and women has barely closed in the past two decades, even as women today are more likely than men to have graduated from college, suggesting other factors are at play.

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Women in the Workforce: The Gender Pay Gap Is Greater for Certain Racial and Ethnic Groups and Varies by Education Level

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Learn more about Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

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EnlargeDownload Link Citation: The House Joint Resolution Proposing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, June 16, 1866; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-1999; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives. View All Pages in the National Archive…