November 18, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Report: Native American Women Face Most Severe Gender Wage Gap
Analysis from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research shows a typical Native American woman earns barely half of every dollar earned by a typical White man.
WASHINGTON, DC – New analysis from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) reveals that a typical Native American woman in the United States earns 52.7 cents for every one dollar earned by a typical White man in 2024. This disparity—which accounts for all full-time, part-time, year-round, and part-year workers—means a Native American woman with earnings makes $26,000 less per year than a typical White man.
The analysis finds that Native American women earn less than a typical White man in every state. This includes six states—California, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Wyoming—where that earnings ratio is less than 50 cents per dollar, with Mississippi’s 41.7 cents earnings ratio the lowest in the country. No state had an earnings ratio above 76 cents.
Specifically in California, which has the largest Native American population, Native American women faced an annual income loss of $35,793—enough to nearly cover the cost of child care for two infants in center-based infant care for an entire year.
“Women of all races and ethnicities experience a gender pay gap, but it is widest for Native American women, and it is getting worse in many states,” said Dr. Kate Bahn, chief economist and senior vice president of research at IWPR. “Native American women have been mistreated in our country for centuries, but that doesn’t mean this pay gap is irreversible. With smarter and fairer policy choices, Native American women can receive the value they contribute to the economy.”
Several factors help to explain this wage gap. Native American women face significantly higher rates of employment and housing discrimination, sexual harassment, and violence. Geographic isolation and limited access to resources affect the large percentage of the Native American population residing on rural and remote tribal lands. Native American women are also overrepresented in low-wage positions and experience higher rates of poverty relative to other races/ethnicities.
The reports lay out a series of policy recommendations IWPR supports to reduce and eliminate the gender pay gap that Native American women experience:
- Enforce minimum wage and salary transparency by raising the federal minimum wage, banning salary history requirements, and promoting salary transparency for all workplaces.
- Improve access to paid leave by providing paid family and medical leave to all workers, and ensuring that all workers can also earn paid sick time.
- Improve access to reproductive health care by investing in remote and rural communities, reducing financial costs related to abortion, and enforcing policies to protect pregnant and postpartum people.
- Enforce federal data collection efforts to ensure that Native Americans are no longer under-researched or under-counted.
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ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN’S POLICY RESEARCH
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.
