Washington, D.C. (March 14, 2023)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and Rep. Debbie Dingell issued the following statements after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an analysis showing the persistence of the gender pay gap and the under-representation of women in management positions across industries.  Equal Pay Day represents how far into the year women would have to work to be paid the same amount that men did in the previous year.  This year, on average, a woman had to work until March 14, 2023 to earn what a man did in 2022:

“Today’s report shows that women are still paid less than men across all industries, with some women of color earning less than half of what men earn for the same job.  Women are also less likely to be promoted into management positions, and when they are, they face an even bigger wage gap.  This means America’s families are paying an outrageous ‘women’s tax’ of tens of thousands of dollars a year due to pervasive wage discrimination across the country.  It’s past time that we pass H.R. 17, the Paycheck Fairness Act, to help end this paycheck injustice.  Unequal pay exacts a toll not only on the women who are getting cheated but on their families and on the economy as a whole,” said Ranking Member Raskin.

“This report confirms what we have long known: that despite playing a critical role in the workforce, women are still not paid equally for equal work.  And the disparity is greater for women who are managers – even though women’s representation in management positions has increased since 2018, the pay gap has stayed virtually the same,” said Rep. Dingell.  “This is not just a women’s issue – it matters to our children and families and our economy as a whole.  When women succeed, our country succeeds.  This disparity is unacceptable, and it's past time for our policies to catch up and pay women what they deserve.”

The GAO report released today concludes that in 2021, across all industries, women working full time earned between 57 and 93 cents for every dollar earned by men—an overall pay gap of 24 cents on the dollar, which is almost unchanged from 2018 and 2019.

The report revealed that in 2021, women held 48.1 percent of non-management positions compared to women representing just 42.1 percent of mangers.  The pay gap between women and men was even larger in management roles, with female managers earned about 71 cents for every dollar male managers earned. 

The report also revealed that the pay gap continues to be greatest for women of color.  In 2021, compared to their similarly situated white male counterparts, Black women in management positions were paid just 59 percent, Hispanic or Latina women were paid just 56 percent, American Indian or Alaska Native women were paid just 51 percent, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander women were paid just 49 percent.  The pay gap was also greater for women with families at home.

Background:

According to the National Partnership for Women & Families, the average woman is paid just 77 cents for every dollar paid to a man.  On average, this equates to an almost $400,000 loss to each woman’s lifetime earning potential.  For women of color, who have been most harmed by the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the gender wage gap is significantly worse.  To end this disparity, Democrats in Congress introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act. 

On March 24, 2021, Committee Democrats held a hearing featuring testimony from U.S. Women’s National Team player Megan Rapinoe, to examine the roots and impacts of the gender pay gap on women and families, and particularly how pay inequity disproportionately burdens women of color.  

Today’s new analysis is an update to previous studies GAO issued in 2001 and 2010 at the request of then-Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and the late Rep. John D. Dingell, and builds on a related report released in 2022.  On June 4, 2021, then-Chairwoman Maloney requested that GAO update its analysis of the gender pay gap in the United States, workplace inequities for women, and steps the federal government can take to better track these disparities. 

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