“Women will not see equal pay until 2059, if current trends continue,” says IWPR

Progress on closing the gender wage gap remains stalled, according to findings released by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), today. “If current trends continue, women will not receive equal pay until 2059,” confirms IWPR. 

The Institute, which uses updated data from the US Census Bureau to analyse changes in annual earnings by gender, race and ethnicity, reveals that projections remain unchanged for the last three years, indicating that the rate of progress has stalled. The gender wage ratio in 2018 was 81.6%, corresponding to a wage gap of 18.4%, a statistically insignificant change from the previous year (when it was 81.7%). 

GENDER & RACIAL INEQUALITIES

Earnings amongst women varied widely by race and ethnicity. IWPR’s findings highlight that Black and Hispanic workers earn considerably less than White and Asian workers. The wage gap is a lot more pronounced for Hispanic and Black women, who made just 54 cents and 62 cents, respectively, for every dollar earned by White men.

While the median annual earnings increased by 4.6% ($2,113) for White women (the highest percentage among all groups of women), earnings for Black women working full-time, year-round increased only by 0.3% ($130) for the year. The earnings increase for Hispanic women, at 1.8%, is also much lower than gains for all women. The typical earnings of a Black or Hispanic woman working full-time, year-round, would leave an adult with two children in near-poverty, according to the findings.

ACHIEVING EQUAL PAY 

“While it is encouraging to finally see significant increases in real earnings for both women and men, the unequal distribution of these gains should raise concerns for everyone,” said Economist and IWPR Postdoctoral Fellow, Valerie Lacarte. “Black and Hispanic women’s work needs to be equitably valued if we want today’s working women to see equal pay before they retire.” 

Adding to her comments, Ariane Hegewisch, Programme Director on Employment & Earnings at IWPR, stated: “We often hear that women are well-positioned to benefit in the future workforce due to their increased investments in their education and training. But this data reminds us that gender and racial inequalities in the labour market are hard-wired into the system. Policymakers, communities and employers should address the issues underlying the wage gap to ensure that the future of work is reshaped to benefit all workers, including women of colour.” 

Click here for a copy of the IWPR findings.