Pay Equity Statistics
Median Weekly Earnings for Full-time, Salary Workers by Race and Sex
| 2008 | 2007 | |||||||
| Men | Women | Percent | Men | Women | Percent | |||
| Overall | $798 | $638 | 79.95% | Overall | $766 | $614 | 80.12% | |
| Asian | $966 | $753 | 77.95% | Asian | $936 | $731 | 78.10% | |
| Black | $620 | $554 | 89.35% | Black | $600 | $533 | 92.16% | |
| Hispanic | $559 | $501 | 89.62% | Hispanic | $520 | $473 | 90.10% | |
| White | $825 | $654 | 79.27% | White | $788 | $626 | 79.44% | |
| 2006 | 2005 | |||||||
| Men | Women | Percent | Men | Women | Percent | |||
| Overall | $743 | $600 | 80.08% | Overall | $722 | $585 | 81.02% | |
| Asian | $882 | $699 | 79.25% | Asian | $825 | $655 | 79.39% | |
| Black | $591 | $519 | 87.82% | Black | $559 | $499 | 89.27% | |
| Hispanic | $505 | $440 | 87.13% | Hispanic | $489 | $429 | 87.73% | |
| White | $761 | $609 | 80.03% | White | $743 | $596 | 80.22% |
Sources:
2008: "Women's Earnings and Income," Catalyst (2009).
2007: "Employment Status of Women and Men in 2007," U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau (2008).
2006: "Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2006," U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2007).
2005: The U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (2006).
Median Weekly Pay of People Ages 16-24
| Women | Men | Percent | |
| 2009: | $413 | $450 | 91% |
| 2008: | $395 | $421 | 93% |
| 2007: | $409 | $443 | 92% |
| 2006: | $395 | $418 | 94% |
Sources:
2009: "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: Second Quarter," U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2nd quarter report)
2008: "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers News Release," U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2nd quarter report)
2007: U.S. Department of Labor
2006: "Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2006," U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2007).
Median Weekly Pay of People with a College Degree
2009: On average, women with a bachelor degree or higher earned $962 per week compared with men who earned $1,353 per week. In other words, women made 71 percent of what men with similar educational backgrounds earned.
(Source: "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: Second Quarter," U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2nd quarter report)
2006: On average, women with a bachelor degree or higher earned $905 per week compared with men who earned $1,205 per week. In other words, women made 75 percent of what men with similar educational backgrounds earned.
(Source: "Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2006," U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor Statistics" 2007).
Women's Earnings as a Percentage of Men's Earnings, 1963-2003
(for year-round, full-time work)
| Earnings | |
| Year | Percent |
| 1963 | 58.9 |
| 1973 | 56.6 |
| 1983 | 64.6 |
| 1993 | 71.5 |
| 2003 | 75.5 |
Source: The U.S. Women's Bureau and the National Committee on Pay Equity.
Average Weekly Earnings of 1999-2000 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients Employed in 2001:
- Full-time female employees earned 80% of full-time male employees’ wages.
- Part-time female employees earned 73% of part-time male employees’ wages.
From AAUW's research report Behind the Pay Gap, page 10, figure 2
Average Weekly Earnings of 1992-92 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients Employed in 2003, by Gender and Employment Status:
- Full-time female employees earned 69% of full-time male employees’ wages.
- Part-time female employees earned 56% of full-time male employee’s wages.
From AAUW's research report Behind the Pay Gap, page 20, figure 10
An Interesting Note:
If women were paid the same as men who worked the same number of hours, have the same education and union status, are the same age, and live in the same region of the country, then these women's annual family income would rise by $4,000 and poverty rates would be cut in half. Working families would gain an astounding $200 billion in family income annually. (as reported by the AFL-CIO and the Institute for Women's Policy Research)