Equal Pay Day
Ground Was Lost From Last Year
Equal Pay Day 2025 marks the current state of the gender pay gap - 83% for full-time workers and 75% for all workers based on the latest U.S. census. This symbolic day is used to raise awareness around and combat the impact of pay inequities. Although first declared by the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1996, the history of the gender and racial wage gaps is inextricably linked to the history of labor in America, one that is replete with discrimination and its consequences. For this reason, individual dates now recognize various demographic subgroups within the gender pay gap, each representing how far into the next year a woman must work in order to earn the equivalent salary earned by a non-Hispanic white male in one year.
MARCH 25 - Equal Pay Day
Women are paid 83 cents for every dollar paid to men, collectively.
Looking at the figure to the right, however, we can see that there are significant disparities based on race and ethnicity that further impact the wage gap.
Last year's date was March 5th. Significant ground was lost and analyses are still currently in progress around a lot of the data. Read below for more information and keep checking back for updates to our primary sources.
Know the Facts
Over half a century after pay discrimination became illegal in the United States, a persistent pay gap between men and women continues to hurt our nation’s workers and our national economy.
Pay equity will remain an AAUW priority until the gap is fully eliminated. Get the facts. We hope The Simple Truth motivates and empowers you to join us in this cause.
Women have only 70% of the retirement income of men.
Based on last year's rates, the gender pay gap wouldn't close until 2088. We're awaiting data regarding current projections.
Where Women Work Makes All The Difference
Where Women Work showcases employer commitment to recruiting, retaining and developing women's talent.
The careers platform providing evidence of how employers actively support women's careers worldwide.
The job opportunities features appealing workplaces that increasingly provide progressive policies, practices, benefits and support mechanisms so women's careers can thrive.
Additionally, Where Women Work celebrates the impressive work of women, provides insight into what it's like to work for a company, what the company does, and what career pathways are possible across the entire talent pipeline: interns, apprentices, graduates, experienced hires, women returners, executives. Visit the platform to learn from a variety of resources. Celebrating the work of women inspires further women to achieve their full potential.
Prime employers for women continuously meet 10 criteria:
- demonstrate executive leadership commitment to gender equality
- embrace a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion
- forge a female hiring pipeline from early career to executive level
- value and support flexible working arrangements
- provide formal avenues to address any concerns of bias
- ensure women's inclusion from supply chain through to decision making
- ensure marketing and communications are consistently free of stereotyping
- provide external support for women's advancement
- monitor progress and outcomes from diversity initiatives
- participate in external validation of progressive employer practice
Recommendations
Employers
- Conduct regular pay audits.
- Post salary ranges.
- Eliminate use of salary history in setting wages.
- Prohibit retaliation against employees discussing wages.
- Offer paid family and medical leave to all employees.
- Implement workplace flexibility and other work-life balance policies.
- Implement equitable recruitment, hiring, and promotion practices.
- Increase salaries due to inflation and economic standard of living costs.
- Increase pay to correct existing pay gaps and salary inconsistencies.
- Provide clear structure for bonuses and performance review processes.
- Offer more resources to help employees better understand total compensation.
- Make executive pay public knowledge.
- Disclose pay ratio between executive officers and median employees.
Government
- Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.
- Update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
- Pass the Pay Equity for All Act.
- Prohibit employers from using salary history to set pay.
- Pass the Fair Pay Act.
- Require employers to provide equal pay for jobs of equivalent value.
- Pass comprehensive Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act.
- Create national paid family and medical leave insurance program for all workers.
- Pass the Healthy Families Act.
- Guarantee paid sick leave.
- Fund early-childhood education programs.
- Improve access to high-quality, inexpensive child care.
- Raise minimum wage.
- Eliminate tipped minimum wage.
- Pass the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act, the EMPOWER Act, and the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act.
- Protections against sexual, racial, and other forms of harassment.
- Regularly collect disaggregated wage information from employers by EEOC.
- States can act on any of these initiatives while awaiting federal action.
Get Empowered
Attend salary negotiation training
- Learn how to research a target salary, highlight your accomplishments, and have the confidence to negotiate
- Increasing your earnings potential has a cumulative effect over your lifetime toward paying off debt and saving for the future
Improve your financial literacy
- Learn best practices for managing and growing your money
- Understand how to pay off student debt as painlessly as possible
Seek our career resources
- Building Social Capital and Networks
- Get Your Resume Straight and Writing a Killer Cover Letter
- Finding Jobs That Aren’t Advertised
- Perfect Your Elevator Pitch
- Build Your Professional Brand
- Create a Career Portfolio
- 6 Tips for Making the Most of LinkedIn
- The Dos and Don’ts of Providing References
Individual
- Learn your rights at work.
- Learn negotiation skills through negotiation workshops
- Join organizations like AAUW to share in collective action.
- Take steps to influence employers and governments.
If you feel motivated to act, a great resource for guidance is the AAUW's Advocacy Toolkit.
Find Our I&E Institute Pay Equity Session Here
