The gender wage gap improved in 2025, unless you’re a Black woman
New data released this week from the Census Bureau this week reveals the gender pay gap widened for Black women.
By Kay Wicker
If Black women remain disproportionately in industries that America systematically pays less, equal-pay enforcement within individual jobs can only go so far. Higher wages in historically undervalued sectors like care and education, access to higher-paying occupations, stronger anti-discrimination enforcement, pay transparency, and affordable child care could all address the many different sides of the problem. And then keeping Black women employed once they get there, of course.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research explicitly connects the widening 2025 gap with the extraordinary job losses Black women experienced last year. Its president, Jamila Taylor, said the latest numbers make the need for policy intervention more urgent.
“Black and Latina women—and our entire economy—cannot afford to wait more than a century for them to be paid the value they contribute to our economy,” Taylor said in a statement.
“From the more than 250,000 Black women who lost jobs in 2025 amid the administration’s attacks on federal employees, to the Latina women facing fear and uncertainty thanks to immigration enforcement that targets their communities,” she continued. “Women of color are bearing the brunt of our sluggish economy—and the need for real policy change is more urgent than ever.”