The Wage Gap, by Gender and Race

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

Find median annual earnings of black men and women, Hispanic men and women, and white women as a percentage of white men's median annual earnings

lily ledbetter speaking at a news conference about the wage gap

Lily Ledbetter in 2009
Source: AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

In 2009, President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck. Previously, victims (most often women) were only allowed 180 days from the date of the first unfair paycheck. This Act is named after a former employee of Goodyear who alleged that she was paid 15-40% less than her male counterparts, which was later found to be accurate. According to the National Committe on Pay Equity, research shows that women won't receive equal pay until 2059—and they are ahead of black and hispanic men, and black and hispanic women.

Year White
men
Black
men
Hispanic
men
White
women
Black
women
Hispanic
women
1970 100% 69.0% n.a. 58.7% 48.2% n.a.
1975 100 74.3 72.1% 57.5 55.4 49.3%
1980 100 70.7 70.8 58.9 55.7 50.5
1985 100 69.7 68.0 63.0 57.1 52.1
1990 100 73.1 66.3 69.4 62.5 54.3
1992 100 72.6 63.3 70.0 64.0 55.4
1994 100 75.1 64.3 71.6 63.0 55.6
1995 100 75.9 63.3 71.2 64.2 53.4
1996 100 80.0 63.9 73.3 65.1 56.6
1997 100 75.1 61.4 71.9 62.6 53.9
1998 100 74.9 61.6 72.6 62.6 53.1
1999 100 80.6 61.6 71.6 65.0 52.1
2000 100 78.2 63.4 72.2 64.6 52.8
2003 100 78.2 63.3 75.6 65.4 54.3
2004 100 74.5 63.2 76.7 68.4 56.9
2006 100 72.1 57.5 73.5 63.6 51.7
2010 100 74.5 65.9 80.5 69.6 59.8
2013 100 75.1 67.2 78 64 54
Source: U.S. Current Population Survey and the National Committee on Pay Equity; also Bureau of Labor Statistics: Weekly and Hourly Earnings Data from the Current Population Survey.

 

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