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The gender pay gap is the term that describes the difference between how much women and men earn despite doing the same job.
Gender wage inequality is complicated, and numerous factors contribute to the problem. Discriminatory practices (conscious and unconscious), occupational choices, parental leave policies, and uneven access to small business loans for women play a role. It will take a collective effort if we ever hope to see the gender pay gap disappear.
Key Gender Pay Gap Statistics:
- Gender pay gap in U.S. hasn’t changed much over the past 20 years.
- A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that women earned an average of 82% of what men earned in the year 2022.
- Around 82.91% was the ratio of earnings for female to male workers aged between 16 to 24 years in the fourth quarter of 2022. (Statista Search Department, 2023)
- According to Pew Research Center's analysis, the pay difference between genders is less significant for individuals aged 25 to 34 when compared to all workers aged 16 and older.
1. Normalize talking about money.
Talking about money is one of the best ways that women can support other women and that men can support women too. For example, having conversations about business loans for women could help many women develop an understanding of this topic. Tori Dunlap, money expert and founder of Her First $100K, advocates making it normal to talk about salaries and specific income and earning numbers with others.
“I think talking about money and being as open and transparent as you’re willing to be is so powerful,” says Dunlap. “It allows us to feel less alone. It allows us to have these tangible things in terms of knowing I’m making less than this other person right now.”
Miranda Marquit, the co-founder of the Freelance Writer Academy, adds that being transparent is important for freelancers and small business owners too. “I once found out a colleague with less experience made 1/2 again what I did for the same client.” She was able to use that knowledge to fix an unequal pay situation that should have never occurred in the first place.
About the Author
Michelle Lambright Black
Michelle Lambright Black is a credit expert with over 19 years of experience, a freelance writer, and a certified credit expert witness. Michelle's work is featured with numerous publications including Forbes, myFICO, Bankrate, U.S. News & World Report, and Reader’s Digest, among others.
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