• Issues

    • Equitable Work and Wages

    Economic justice begins with fair compensation for all women, and equal pay policies, livable wages, labor and union rights, better job quality, and retirement security improve the economic well-being of women and families.

    Data

    See data by gender below. Click "Visualize data" for a breakdown by gender and race/ethnicity, where applicable.

    Earnings and Income

    Visualize data
    United States Women Men All Earnings/Income Ratio
    Workers' Earnings (16+) $55,000 $65,500 $60,000 84.0%
    Managerial Workers’ Earnings (16+) $80,000 $100,000 $94,000 80.0%
    Retirement Income (62+) $13,200 $20,700 $16,800 63.8%
    Social Security Income (62+) $15,500 $21,600 $18,000 71.8%
    United States
    Women
    Men
    All
    Earnings/Income Ratio

    Source: American Community Survey, 2024.

    Notes: Earnings/income data are median annual values. Workers’ earnings represent full-time year-round work.

    Earnings by Educational Attainment

    Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education an individual has completed.
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    United States Less than HS HS diploma or equivalent Some college or associate's degree Bachelor's degree Graduate degree or above All
    Women's Earnings by Education $33,227 $40,146 $48,233 $69,670 $88,000 $56,770
    Men's Earnings by Education $43,234 $52,498 $64,311 $92,644 $121,455 $69,670
    Gender Earnings Ratio by Education 76.9% 76.5% 75.0% 75.2% 72.5% 81.5%
    United States
    Less than HS
    HS diploma or equivalent
    Some college or associate's degree
    Bachelor's degree
    Graduate degree or above
    All

    Source: American Community Survey, 2024.

    Notes: Data shown for individuals aged 25+. Earnings/income data are median annual values representing full-time year-round work.

    Labor Force and Employment

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    United States Women Men All
    Labor Force Participation 59.6% 68.2% 63.8%
    Workers Holding Managerial Jobs 10.6% 12.8% 11.8%
    Part-time Workers 29.7% 18.0% 23.6%
    Self-Employed Workers 8.2% 11.5% 9.9%
    Unemployment 4.5% 4.8% 4.6%
    United States
    Women
    Men
    All

    Source: American Community Survey, 2024.

    Notes: Data shown for individuals aged 16+. Labor force participation counts as either being employed or being unemployed but actively looking for a job. Workers are classified as unemployed if they do not currently have a job, are looking for a job, and have not yet found one. Part-time work status is based on work last year.

    Living in Poverty

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    United States Women Men All
    Adults in Poverty (18–64) 10.7% 8.5% 9.6%
    Seniors in Poverty (65+) 11.9% 8.8% 10.5%
    Working Poor (18+; 100% of Federal Poverty Threshold) 4.6% 3.4% 4.0%
    Working Poor (18+; 200% of Federal Poverty Threshold) 15.6% 13.3% 14.4%
    United States
    Women
    Men
    All

    Source: American Community Survey, 2024.

    Notes: The working poor are defined as individuals who spend at least 27 weeks in a year working full-time and have incomes below the Federal Poverty Threshold. We calculate the share of workers who earn less than 100% and 200% of the Federal Poverty Threshold.

    Representation in the Workforce

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    United States Women Men
    Employment in STEM and STEM-related Jobs 49.7% 50.3%
    Employment in STEM Jobs 27.3% 72.7%
    Employment in STEM-related Jobs 74.1% 25.9%
    Employment in Professional Jobs 57.2% 42.8%
    United States
    Women
    Men

    Source: American Community Survey, 2024.

    Notes: Data shown for individuals aged 16+. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. For more information about the classification of STEM, STEM-related, and professional jobs, see related notes in the State PAL methodology table.

    Denominator for each of the above indicators is all women and men employed in that workforce. We drop the ‘All’ column in this instance (All equals 100%).

    Policy

    Updated July 22, 2026
    Salary transparency laws that require employers to disclose the compensation range for job postings can help close the gender wage gap.
    Salary history bans that prohibit employers from inquiring about an applicant's prior compensation or using it to justify a pay discrepancy can contribute to closing the gender and racial wage gaps.
    State minimum wage laws set the wage floor for the hourly rate that employers can compensate workers, and because women are overrepresented in low-wage jobs, they are more likely to live in poverty.
    Workplace antidiscrimination laws prohibit disparate treatment of workers on the basis of sex or gender, gender identity, race, religion, family or marital status, pregnancy status, disability, or other protected class.

    State policy or data requests?

    Stakeholders and partners can get support from IWPR’s experts on state-specific data and policy landscape insights. Submit a hotline request to get started.

    Hotline statepal@iwpr.org