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 in 2009 |
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.
The Wage Gap |