The Gender Pay Gap Across the US in 2021

It’s women’s history month, a perfect time to sit down and take a look at how we’re doing with equality in the workforce. Specifically, if we’ve made any kind of dent in the gender pay gap. 

Unfortunately, despite attempts to increase the number of loans for women-owned businesses and initiatives to equalize pay across the genders, we still have a significant national gap of 18%. That means women make 18% less in their yearly earnings than men.

With all the economic turmoil brought on by COVID-19, it’s hard to say if women’s progress will be a top priority for businesses that are cutting costs to weather the storm. Progress is slow going, but how slow? Let’s dive into the data.

States are ranked based on the percentage difference between women’s and men’s earnings for full-time, year-round workers.

We used the stop-pay methodology, where stop-pay dates are based on the day of the year women start working for free based on the gender pay gap in that state. These dates are based on a working calendar that omits weekends. This calendar does not take holidays into account.

All statistics were calculated by aggregating data from a number of government and academic sources.^1,2,3,4

• US women effectively stop getting paid on Oct. 29 due to a national pay gap of 18%.
• Women don’t have a higher average salary than men in any US state.
• Vermont has the smallest pay gap, with women earning only 9% less than men overall.
• Wyoming has the largest pay gap, with women earning 35% less than men overall.
• Washington DC boasts the highest average salary for women at $75,750. It’s ranked 13th with a gender pay gap of 17%.
• Mississippi has the lowest average salary for women at $33,140. It’s ranked 41st with a gender pay gap of 23%.

The next logical question in looking at state disparities is: What exactly is causing certain states to have smaller or larger pay gaps? The answer is not so simple. There are a lot of reasons for pay disparities:

• Lack of equal access to funding for female-owned businesses
• Corporate cultures that tend to promote men or where men are more likely to get raises
• Unequal hiring practices
• States with cultures that emphasize traditional family work structures
• The number of women-owned businesses in a given state
• Lack of local legislation that protects women from discriminatory corporate practices

The points mentioned above are only a few of the reasons large pay gaps may persist in certain states and be smaller in others. It’s crucial to recognize the corporate, local, and governmental cultures that lead to inequality. 

It’s only by fixing the gender issues in our local communities that we can have any hope of making a significant dent in the national pay gap.

As you can see, the pay gap has steadily gotten better over time, but in the last 10 years or so we’ve been in a bit of a stalemate. We’ve drifted between 81–82% since 2010 with little sign of progress. 

We’ve reached a point where the next steps of progress will only come as a result of individuals doing their part to recognize and change the inequality in their own environments. Luckily, there has been some progress in certain occupations. It’s certainly not across-the-board progress, but there are a few things to be hopeful about.

There are actually a few occupations with gaps that favor women. 

Female producers and directors make 106% of what their male counterparts make. This percentage represents a much more reasonable gender pay gap. A couple percentage points difference in favor of either gender is how every occupation should be. 

Compare that to the pay gap among real estate brokers and sales agents where women only make 69% of what men make. A disparity this large is problematic and should be examined more closely for possible sexist practices. 

We’re at a crucial point in the history of the gender pay gap. The national income disparity between men and women is showing signs of stagnation. The only way to take the next crucial steps towards workplace equality is to change deeply ingrained practices and cultures that tend to promote men over equally deserving women. 

Where can we make these changes? In our communities, our workplaces, and our governments. We don’t want to have to report another year of stagnation in our next pay gap update. We have most of 2021 ahead of us. Let’s make it a year of progress for women’s equality.