FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2020
Contact: Keri A. Potts | 860-839-3438 | potts@iwpr.org
Little Progress Toward Closing Gender Wage Gap
The gender wage gap may finally close in 2059. An analysis released today by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) shows that women are still almost 40 years from reaching pay equity with men if trends continue at the current pace. Each year the wage gap persists, women fall further behind men in overall earnings and ability to build assets and wealth with a cumulative effect each year in which earnings differences continue.
Newly released earnings data show persistent pay inequity is particularly pernicious for Hispanic and Black women:
- The average Hispanic woman working full-time year-round earned only 55.4 cents for every dollar earned by a White man in 2019, amounting to $29,100 less last year;
- Black women’s median full-time year-round earnings were $24,100 less than White men’s, or 63.0 cents for every dollar they earn.
While the strong pre-COVID economy last year meant that women’s earnings saw a substantial increase, the median annual earnings of Hispanic and Black women in 2019 nevertheless leave a family of an adult and two children in near-poverty, according the official Census definition.
President and CEO for IWPR, C. Nicole Mason, Ph.D., said, “Each year the wage gap persists, women fall further behind men. With four months left in 2020, if we want to avoid further stagnation or even widening of the wage gap, immediate measures must be taken to boost recovery in women-concentrated service sector jobs, overhaul the collapsed child care infrastructure and address disproportionate hardships for women of color and single working mothers.”
About Institute for Women’s Policy Research
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research is the nation’s preeminent think tank committed to winning economic equity for all women and eliminating structural and institutional barriers to women’s full participation in the workforce and society.
IWPR builds knowledge and evidence to support policies that help grow women’s economic power and influence in society, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic security and well-being of families. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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Contact: Keri A. Potts, IWPR Vice President External Affairs | potts@iwpr.org | 860-839-3438
