FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2026

Contact: Williams@IWPR.org

Report highlights a second consecutive year of decline for women’s full-time earnings.

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, in recognition of Equal Pay Day—which marks how far into the year a woman must work to earn what a man earned the year before—the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) released a new fact sheet on occupational segregation and the persistence of unequal pay across all job types.

In 2025, women were nearly half of the total full-time workforce and were breadwinners or co-winners in the majority of families, but they earned 82.1 cents for every dollar earned by men per week. This marks the second consecutive year of decline in the weekly earnings ratio, as women working full-time earned 82.7 cents on the dollar in 2024 and 83.6 cents on the dollar in 2023. Disparities in weekly earnings show a parallel widening of the annual gender wage gap observed from 2022 to 2023 and again from 2023 to 2024.

The fact sheet, “The Numbers Don’t Add Up: Women Continue to Earn Less, Regardless of Occupation,” highlights that even when women enter male-dominated fields, they earn significantly less than their male counterparts—even in the 20 occupations in which women are most employed. 

Among the largest occupations for women:

• Women working full-time as secretaries and administrative assistants earned just 72.4 cents for every dollar earned by men in the same occupation, despite making up more than 91 percent of workers in that job.
• Cashiers, one of the lowest-paid occupations, were paid a median of $617 per week for women, compared with $694 for men.
• Women managers earned $1,702 per week, compared with $2,089 for men, even though management roles are often considered higher-paying and more stable.

These disparities persist in occupations where men are the majority of workers. For example, women earned just 70.6 cents on the dollar as retail salespeople and 73.9 cents as drivers and sales workers, while making up a small share of the workforce in many higher-paying technical and trade occupations. The wage gap is not a result of women choosing lower-paying occupations where they are the majority of workers.

“We cannot achieve true pay equity without addressing where women work and how that work is valued,” said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of IWPR. “This is not about women’s choices or effort—it is about a labor market that continues to undervalue women’s work across industries and occupations.”

The number of occupations in which women earn nearly or even more than men is very small. Across all occupations, women’s median weekly earnings were nearly equal to men’s in only four occupations (including industrial production managers, pharmacists, food prep workers, and fast food and counter workers), and women earned more than men in just three occupations (including counselors or advisors), which together employ less than 1 percent of women working full-time.

“In most jobs, women are bringing home less money for the same work week, which means less income to cover child care, housing, health care, student loans, and retirement,” said Dr. Kate Bahn, IWPR’s chief economist and senior vice president of research. “These gaps add up over time, undermine women’s economic mobility, and diminish family economic security.”

Policy Solutions to Close the Gap

To address these persistent inequities, IWPR recommends policies that:

• Strengthen and enforce equal pay and antidiscrimination laws.
• Raise wages and improve job quality in women-dominated industries.
• Increase the minimum wage and eliminate the tipped minimum wage.
• Expand access to paid sick leave, family leave, and affordable child care.
• Protect workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain.

Read the full fact sheet, “The Numbers Don’t Add Up: Women Continue to Earn Less, Regardless of Occupation.”  

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The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) is the nation’s leading think tank working to win economic equity for all women. Through evidence-based research, policy solutions, and advocacy, IWPR is advancing the power and well-being of women across the US.

Learn more at IWPR.org.