“While the data reflects some important progress for women, that isn’t the full story,” Emily Martin, chief program officer at the National Women’s Law Center, began in a statement.

But a closer look at the racial breakdown reveals that the progress hasn’t been shared equally. Black women were the only demographic whose wage gap actually widened, with earnings falling from 65 cents to just 64 cents for every dollar earned by white men. In 2025, the typical earnings of Black women working full-time year-round were $51,950, a 1.7% decline. These numbers are raising new concerns, especially from Women’s policy organizations, about how, in a year when it got better overall, it got worse for Black women.