Equal Pay Day highlights stalled progress on closing gender pay gap

Over time, the inequality is magnified. Based on today’s wage gap, women of all races just beginning their careers will lose $462,000 over 40 years, compared with men of all races, according to the center’s research.

This “lifetime wage gap” is based on the latest data on the difference between women’s and men’s median annual earnings for full-time, year-round workers, the center said. 

“When you look at it by race and gender, that disparity is even wider,” said Jasmine Tucker, vice president of research at the National Women’s Law Center.

The center found that Black women, Latinas, Indigenous women, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women will lose over $1 million in a 40-year career, compared with white, non-Hispanic men.

“This means that women are never, ever going to catch up,” Tucker said.

In fact, it could take roughly five generations to close the pay gap worldwide, according to 2024 estimates by the World Economic Forum.

“Based on current data, it will take 134 years to reach full parity,” the organization’s latest global gender gap report said.

In its Northern America region, the report found that despite equality in educational attainment, there are still wide disparities in earned income and women’s representation in senior leadership positions.

“Where diversity, equity, and inclusion [DEI] efforts are longer lasting, the returns follow,” the report also said. In the U.S., at least, many of those efforts are now being pared back or scrapped entirely to reflect a new political reality and the priorities of the Trump administration.

There is no single explanation for why progress toward narrowing the pay gap has mostly stalled, according to a separate 2023 report by the Pew Research Center.

Women are still more likely than men to pursue careers in lower-paying industries, and to take time out of the labor force or reduce the number of hours worked because of caregiving responsibilities — often referred to as the “motherhood penalty.” Systemic bias has also played a role, Pew found.

“The most important part is not just that [women] make less, it’s what that turns into — the wealth gap,” said Cary Carbonaro, a certified financial planner and managing wealth advisor at Scottsdale, Arizona-based Ashton Thomas.

Not only do women earn less than men, but women also save less each month and feel less optimistic about their long-term financial standing.

Heading into 2025, women were contributing $1,825.18 a month, on average, to their various savings accounts, while men contributed $2,352.34, according to New York Life’s 2025 Wealth Watch survey.

Over the course of the year, women aim to save $9,463.98, on average, compared with the $17,963.13 that their male counterparts aim to put away, the report found.  

They also tend to invest more conservatively, research by Wells Fargo shows.

Together, that contributes to a significant savings shortfall.

Although there is no immediate solution to achieving pay equity, there are some measures that can help women shore up their economic standing, Carbonaro said.

“Step one is a budget: What’s coming and what’s going out,” she said. “Spend less than you make. It’s so basic, but it’s the most important building block to securing your financial future.”

Clarification: This story was updated to clarify that the amount of the “lifetime wage gap” reported by the National Women’s Law Center varies based on data for different groups of women.