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Equal Pay Day spotlights the stalled progress on closing the pay gap: ‘Women are never, ever going to catch up,’ researcher says
As it stands, women earn just 83 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the National Women’s Law Center. Over time, the inequality is magnified. Based on today’s wage gap, women of all races just beginning their careers will lose $462,000 over 40 years, compared with men of all races, according to the center’s research.
This “lifetime wage gap” is based on the latest data on the difference between women’s and men’s median annual earnings for full-time, year-round workers, the center said.
“When you look at it by race and gender, that disparity is even wider,” said Jasmine Tucker, vice president of research at the National Women’s Law Center.
The center found that Black women, Latinas, Indigenous women, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women will lose over $1 million in a 40-year career, compared with white, non-Hispanic men.
“This means that women are never, ever going to catch up,” Tucker said.
