{"id":8204,"date":"2025-03-04T09:58:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T14:58:46","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:58:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:58:19","slug":"gender-pay-gap-in-us-has-narrowed-slightly-over-2-decades","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/03\/04\/gender-pay-gap-in-us-has-narrowed-slightly-over-2-decades\/","title":{"rendered":"Gender pay gap in U.S. has narrowed slightly over 2 decades"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The gender gap in pay has slightly narrowed in the United States over the past 20 years or so. In 2024, women earned an average of 85% of what men earned, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. In 2003, women earned 81% as much as men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As has long been the case, the wage gap is smaller for workers ages 25 to 34 than for all workers 16 and older. In 2024, women 25 to 34 earned an average of 95 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same age group \u2013 a 5-cent gap. By comparison, the gender pay gap among workers of all ages that year was 15 cents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Line<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
How we did this<\/summary>\n

The gender pay gap measures the difference in median hourly earnings between men and women who work full or part time in the United States. Pew Research Center\u2019s estimate of the pay gap is based on an analysis of Current Population Survey<\/a> (CPS) monthly outgoing rotation group files (IPUMS<\/a>) from January 1982 to December 2024, combined to create annual files. To understand how we calculate the gender pay gap, read our 2013 post, \u201cHow Pew Research Center measured the gender pay gap.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to findings about the gender wage gap, this analysis includes information from a Pew Research Center survey about the perceived reasons for the pay gap, as well as the pressures and career goals of U.S. men and women. The survey was conducted among 5,098 adults and includes a subset of questions asked only for 2,048 adults who are employed part time or full time, from Oct. 10-16, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the questions used<\/a> in this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

While the gender pay gap has not changed a lot since 2003, it has narrowed considerably when looking at the longer term, both among all workers 16 and older and among those 25 to 34. The estimated 15-cent gender pay gap among all workers in 2024 was down from 35 cents in 1982. And the 5-cent gap among workers ages 25 to 34 in 2024 was down from a 26-cent gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Census Bureau<\/a> has also analyzed the gender pay gap, though its analysis looks only at full-time workers (as opposed to full- and part-time workers). In 2023, full-time, year-round working women earned 83% of what their male counterparts earned, according to the Census Bureau\u2019s most recent analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the gender pay gap has been explained<\/a> by measurable factors such as educational attainment, occupational segregation and work experience. The narrowing of the gap over the long term is attributable in large part to gains women have made in each of these dimensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though women have increased their presence in higher-paying jobs traditionally dominated by men, such as professional and managerial positions, women as a whole continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying occupations relative to their share of the workforce. This may contribute to gender differences in pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other factors that are difficult to measure, including gender discrimination, may also contribute to the ongoing wage discrepancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perceived reasons for the gender wage gap<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When asked about the factors that may play a role in the gender wage gap, half of U.S. adults point to women being treated differently by employers<\/strong> as a major reason, according to an October 2022 Pew Research Center survey. Smaller shares point to women making different choices about how to balance work and family<\/strong> (42%) and working in jobs that pay less<\/strong> (34%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some notable differences between men and women in views of what\u2019s behind the gender wage gap. Women are much more likely than men (61% vs. 37%) to say a major reason for the gap is that employers treat women differently. And while 45% of women say a major factor is that women make different choices about how to balance work and family, men are slightly less likely to hold that view (40% say this).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents with children younger than 18 in the household are more likely than those who don\u2019t have young kids at home (48% vs. 40%) to say a major reason for the pay gap is the choices that women make about how to balance family and work. On this question, differences by parental status are evident among both men and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Views about reasons for the gender wage gap also differ by party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n