Join us for IWPR’s 2026 Power+ Summit, The Power Grid: Driving Gender Equity Forward, taking place September 28–29 in Detroit, MI.
Together, we will spark bold ideas, share breakthroughs, and shape the future of gender equity.
By Ursula Mead
Finally, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, closing the gender pay would have added more than $512 billion in wage and salary income to the U.S. economy in 2016 alone, or roughly 2.8% of the gross domestic product. By paying women less than men, employers are artificially depressing that economic output. It’s long past time for more state legislatures to follow the lead of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Jersey and end that practice. Everyone wins when they do, but until then, companies in those three states will have the edge.