New Report: Women Earn Less than Men in All Occupations, Even Ones Commonly Held by Women - IWPR (2024)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 7, 2024

Contact: William Lutz 202-785-5100

Equal Pay Day 2024 Brings Yet More Evidence of Pay Inequities for Women in the Workforce, says the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR)

Washington, D.C. — Women are paid eighty-four (84) cents for every dollar a man makes, a persistent gender wage gap that spans all professions, even those typically held by women, according to a new report released by IWPR ahead of Equal Pay Day on March 12, 2024.

Women earned less than men for full-time work in all 20 of the largest occupations for women and in all of the 20 largest occupations for men, according to IWPR’s analysis.

“The gender wage gap is a national disgrace,” said new IWPR President and CEO Dr. Jamila K. Taylor. “Even in professions typically dominated by women, men earn more for doing the same job. Equal pay for equal work has been the law of the land for more than a half-century, yet women still cannot get fair treatment when it comes to employment and earnings. And it’s worse for women of color, who face rampant racial discrimination in the workforce in addition to ongoing pay inequities.”

“Progress on the gender wage gap has come at a snail’s pace. At this rate, women will have to wait until 2053 for full pay equity. Accelerating change will require bold policy shifts to address employment discrimination, support job creation, protect workers, ensure a living wage, and solidify the caregiving supports women need to balance career and family,” said Dr. Taylor.

Of the 20 largest occupations for women studied as part of IWPR’s research, the five with the worst pay inequities were:

• Financial Managers, where women only earn 71% of what men earn
• Retail Salesperson—72%
• Education and Childcare Administrators—79%
• Administrative Assistants—80%
• Managers—81%

The profession with the smallest gender wage gap was Cashier, where women earn 98% of what men earn.

IWPR’s research also showed that, while the overall gender gap improved slightly over the previous year, it actually widened for women of all major racial and ethnic groups compared to White men.

• Latina women faced the largest gender racial wage gap, being paid just 59.2 cents on the dollar paid to White men, an amount slightly worse than in 2022 when the ratio was 61.4 cents.
• Black women earned 65.8 cents on the dollar compared to White men, down from 67.4 percent in 2022.

Black and Hispanic/Latina women earn less, largely due to their over-representation in some of the lowest-paying occupations in the Service sector, i.e., health care support, personal care, child care, and food service. But even in these lower-paying jobs, White men still outearn women.

Click here to view IWPR’s fact sheet, “Women Earn Less than Men Whether They Work in the Same or Different Occupations.”

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research strives to win economic equity for all women and eliminate barriers to their full participation in society. As a leading national think tank, IWPR builds evidence to shape policies that grow women’s power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families.

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