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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2025
CONTACT:
Chandler Rollins, rollins@iwpr.org
Washington, DC – Analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) shows that in 2024, the gender wage gap worsened as women who worked full-time year-round were paid just 80.9 cents for every dollar a man makes. This is down from 82.7 cents on the dollar in 2023 and 84 cents in 2022, marking the second consecutive year the gender earnings ratio has declined.
This is the biggest drop in the earnings ratio since 1966, and the worst ratio since 2016.
The data show that the gender earnings gap widened between full-time year-round working women and men. Over the past two years, men’s earnings have outpaced women’s, rising 3.7 percent while women’s earnings remained largely flat. Among all working women (including part-time and part-year), the earnings gap marginally decreased, but the change was not statistically significant, as it fell within the margin of error.
The earnings gap for women of each of the largest racial and ethnic groups continues to stall. For Latina women who worked full-time year-round in 2024, this meant $33,620 less in earnings than White men. Black women made $28,340 less.
Below is a statement from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research President and CEO Dr. Jamila K. Taylor:
“The latest Census Bureau data shows us that even in a strong economy like we saw in 2024, women are still being left behind. Once again, men’s earnings growth outpaced women’s, widening the gender wage gap for the second year in a row. This is proof that economic progress does not automatically translate into equity for women. This historical shift reflects structural barriers like reproductive health care bans, workplace discrimination, and limited access to higher-pay jobs that continue to hold women back, especially those in part-time or lower-wage roles. These numbers are not just statistics; this is especially true for women of color for whom the wage gap translates into thousands of dollars less each year to sustain themselves and their families.”
Key Findings
- In 2024, women working full-time year-round made 80.9 cents per dollar earned by men (a wage gap of 19.1 percent)—a significant worsening of the gender earnings ratio compared to 82.7 cents per dollar in 2023 (a wage gap of 17.3 percent). This is the biggest annual drop in the gender earnings ratio since 1966, and the worst ratio since 2016.
- The gender wage gap for all workers with earnings (including full-time, part-time, full-year, and part-time year workers) improved slightly, but the change is not statistically significant. In 2024, a typical woman was paid 75.6 cents per dollar paid to a man (a wage gap of 24.4 percent) compared to 74.8 cents on the dollar in 2023 (a wage gap of 25.2 percent).
- Against the backdrop of a strong economy in 2024, men’s typical earnings increased significantly but women’s earnings were largely unchanged. Adjusted for inflation, the earnings of a typical full-time year-round working woman increased insignificantly (by 1.5 percent) in 2024 compared to a statistically significant annual increase of 3.7 percent for a typical man.
- Racial and gender wage gaps remain profound. In 2024, a typical Latina earned $33,620 less for working full-time year-round than a typical White man (being paid just 58.0 cents per dollar paid to White men). A Black woman working full-time year-round earned $28,340 less (64.6 cents per dollar), a White woman $18,500 less (76.9 cents per dollar), and an Asian woman earned $3,240 less (96.0 cents per dollar).
- Gender racial wage gaps compared to White men’s earnings in 2024 widened for White women, stayed largely unchanged for Black and Latina women, and slightly improved for Asian women who worked full-time year-round.
To view IWPR’s full fact sheet on the gender wage gap, click here. IWPR analyzes the latest gender wage gap data year-round, and tracks pay equity data for individual race and ethnic groups throughout each year, with the last day of recognition in 2025 acknowledging American Indian and Alaska Native Women’s Equal Pay Day on November 18, 2025.