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Nazirah Ahmad
nazirah@emccommunications.com
(704) 290-6869

New Census Bureau Numbers Shed Light on Continuing Pay Gaps for Women
The new income data shows most pay disparities have widened based on race and gender

Sept. 10, 2024—Today, the U.S Census Bureau released new wage data from 2023, which shows most of the wage gaps for women have grown wider since 2022, with women continuing to occupy some of the lowest-paying jobs overall. According to the new data, for every dollar a man is paid, a woman working full-time, year-round typically is paid just 83 cents. When looking at all earners, including part-time/seasonal, part-year, and full-time, women, on average, only make 75 cents compared to men. The pay disparities are even more severe for most women of color.

Here is the new breakdown on the pay gaps by race and gender:

All women compared to all men:
Full time: 83 cents
All earners: 75 cents

Black women compared to white, non-Hispanic men
Full time: 66 cents
All earners: 64 cents

Latinas compared to white, non-Hispanic men
Full time: 58 cents
All earners: 51 cents

Asian American women compared to white, non-Hispanic men
Full time: 94 cents
All earners: 83 cents

Note: Data used to calculate the pay gaps experienced by Native American Women, Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (NHPI) Women, Moms, and Women with Disabilities are expected to be released in subsequent data sets this week and some later this year.

Founded in 2013, the Equal Pay Today campaign, is a national coalition of over 40 nonprofit and advocacy organizations that advocate for pay equity for women and LGBTQIA+ people, especially women of color. Equal Pay Today is a project led by Equal Rights Advocates.

“Each year, these numbers show us the persistence of the devastating gender and racial wage gaps that women continue to face,” said Deborah J. Vagins, director of Equal Pay Today campaign, a project at Equal Rights Advocates. “Wage justice means that families must be able to bring home everything they have rightfully earned and they need new policy tools at the federal and state level to do so. Our policymakers have the power to ensure equity for all workers, to combat pay discrimination, and to lift countless families out of poverty by adopting policy solutions that address the key drivers of the wage gaps and ensure that all women are paid fairly. We demand no less.”

The current Equal Pay Today policy agenda offers solutions to address these egregious pay gaps and promote wage justice. Some recommendations include: implementing transparent pay practices and accountability mechanisms; strengthening current equal pay laws, passing new legislation to increase equity, ban workplace harassment, eliminate the subminimum and tipped wages for vulnerable workers; and support paid family leave, paid sick and safe leave, and other workplace protections.

To speak with equal pay experts from Equal Rights Advocates, contact Nazirah Ahmad at (704) 290-6869 or nazirah@emccommunications.com.

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About Equal Rights Advocates

Equal Rights Advocates fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country. Since 1974, they have been fighting on the front lines of social justice to protect and advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and people of all gender identities through groundbreaking legal cases and bold legislation that sets the stage for the rest of the nation.

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January 29, 2024

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Comms@equalrights.org

Today, the White House announced its final rule prohibiting Federal agencies from considering a candidate’s salary history as a factor in setting pay for new Federal civilian employees. Equal Pay Today, a project of Equal Rights Advocates organized and submitted comments in support of this rule and has been long advocating for such transparency in wages.

This announcement comes on the 15th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and is a fitting next step in the fight for equal pay.

Lilly Ledbetter served as a manager at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Alabama, for over nineteen years. After she was slipped an anonymous note, she learned that she had been paid significantly less than her three male colleagues over the course of her career. Ms. Ledbetter filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.

In 2007, Ms. Ledbetter's lawsuit ended with the Supreme Court's ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear, which overturned her original jury award of over 3 million dollars. Ignoring the egregious facts in the case, five justices said employees had to file a complaint within six months of an employer’s first decision to discriminate, whether the employee knows about the discrimination or not.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the ruling made no sense in the real world. Such an absurd decision needed a Congressional response. With the support of advocates nationwide and champions in Congress, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Ac – the first law signed by President Obama – as enacted. This law restored the law and make clear that workers can challenge every discriminatory paycheck.

The law was such an important victory for workers and gave employees who were experiencing ongoing pay discrimination their day in court. However, the law did not give women new tools to combat the wage gap itself.

As announced in Equal Pay Today’s 2023-2024 Policy Agenda, we continue to fight for the state and federal fair pay legislation, like the federal Paycheck Fairness Act, which would provide new tools for workers to get at the causes and impact of pay discrimination. Equal Pay Today has also urged the Administration to take actions that can apply to federal workers and federal contractors, which would provide progress on pay equity for millions of these employees. Today, the Biden Administration announced its final a rule banning the use of salary history when setting wages for federal employees. This is an important step forward because for women and workers of color, if their prior wages have been tainted by discrimination, new salaries can carry forward discrimination in setting new wages based on old pay. We also are continuing to urge the Administration to move forward on a similar rule banning the use of salary history for federal contractors. This would be critical as many private employers also have federal contracts and millions of employees would be protected.

“On behalf of Equal Pay Today, I am thrilled that the Biden Administration has finalized this rule, which will prevent Federal agencies from considering a candidate’s salary history as a factor in setting pay for new Federal civilian employees. We were please to advocate our membership in support of this rule. While we continue to fight for the day this is the case for all employees nationwide, but we are grateful to the Administration for advancing commonsense protections that can blunt the impact of having prior discrimination infect the pay for its workforce. This is such a fitting announcement to make on the 15th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. We commend the Administration for continuing to fulfill the legacy of Ms. Ledbetter in her persistent fight for fair pay for all,” said Deborah J. Vagins, Director of Equal Pay Today, Equal Rights Advocates.

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About Equal Pay Today:

The mission of Equal Pay Today, a project at Equal Rights Advocates, is to eradicate the long-standing gender wage gap impacting the economic security of women, families, and communities of color. Through strategies involving policy reform, litigation, education and outreach, EPT’s innovative collaboration of national, regional, and state-based women's legal advocacy, worker justice groups, and social justice organizations are changing conversations about equal pay at every opportunity.