The U.S. Census Bureau released data this week that shows that the wage gap for women continues to stagnate.
Women’s wages have historically been lower than men’s wages. The Census data shows that wages have not improved significantly. Women earn, on average, 78 cents for every one dollar men make. This includes women who work part-time or seasonally.
In 1963, when then President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Equal Pay Act into law, women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man earned.
When parsing out the Census Bureau’s 2022 data into racial demographics, Black, Hispanic and Native women earn less than white, non-Hispanic men.
Full-time Latina wage earners make 57 cents and all Latina women, including part-time and seasonal workers, earn 52 cents for every white, non-Hispanic man’s dollar earned.
“Each year, these numbers show us the persistence of gender and racial wage gaps that women continue to face,” said Deborah J. Vagins, director of a national advocacy group called Equal Pay Today campaign, a project at Equal Rights Advocates. “The numbers also show us the critical importance of legislative and executive branch solutions that would help millions of families across the country. Our policymakers have the power to ensure equity for all workers, to combat pay discrimination, and to lift countless families out of poverty by adopting policy solutions that address the key drivers of the wage gaps and ensure women are paid fairly.”
