Women have historically earned less than men, and the gap in earnings between the two genders has barely budged over the past 20 years. A recent Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers found that in 2022 women earned an average of 82% of what men earned — a very similar percentage to the 2002 results, when women earned 80% of what men earned.
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So why is the gender wage gap not closing? And what can women (and men) do to help close the gap? Here’s what the experts say.
There are a few factors that have led to a stagnant gender wage gap, said Delia Coleman, deputy director of Equal Rights Advocates.
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“One major factor is simply ignoring or not measuring the problem,” she said. “Workplaces that don’t analyze salary discrepancies across all employees and do not dedicate the proper resources to address the discrepancies are bound to have pay gaps. We can’t fix what we can’t see.”
A lack of pay transparency also adds to the issue.
“Pay secrecy keeps workers in the dark about pay disparities and prevents them from asking for the wages they deserve,” Coleman said. “Having access to this information is important...
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