The Cost of Being a Woman: A $1.6 Trillion Yearly Wage Gap

By Bria Overs Originally appeared in Word in Black Despite some progress on the gender wage gap, women still make less than men, with women of color suffering the most. On this year’s Equal Pay Day, there’s little to celebrate. Although women now earn more than ever have, the gender wage gap persists. And they’re feeling the pain in this current economy and political climate. In 2023,& women earned, on average, 21.8% less than men, according to the Economic Policy Institute. While that’s better than 2022, where women made 22.9% less, it’s not necessarily because jobs are starting to pay better — and higher education and self-advocacy only improved wages so much. The EPI found that the pay improvement is likely because men’s wages have stagnated. Research from the National Partnership for Women and Families found that women& lose $1.6 trillion& yearly because of the wage gap. “That’s a lot of money that we want in the pockets of women and their families,” Jocelyn Frye, president of the organization, says. For Black, Latina, and Indigenous women, the wage gap problem is compounded by racial and gender discrimination, along with occupational segregation. These factors not only contribute to pay disparity with...