Pepperdine Graphic

A Snapshot of the Wage Gap

by

Infographic by Melissa Locke

The issues women faced in the 1920s are the same ones women are facing in 2020, including closing the wage and achievement gaps. The fight for equal pay is not a new one, and it won’t be going away anytime soon. Here’s a snapshot of the wage and achievement gap today:

Scholars project women won’t reach pay equality until 2055 for white women, 2130 for Black women and 2224 for Hispanic women. This data for Asian women was unavailable. Each state has its own predicted timeline, with Florida being the first state predicted to close the gap in 2038 and Wyoming being the last in 2159. Some states will take less time to reach equal pay and some much longer.

Chart shows the projected year for closing the gender wage gap by state. Source: Institute of Women’s Policy Research

  • The smallest wage gap is $0.12 in California and New York, where women make $0.88 against a man’s dollar.
  • The largest is $0.31 in Louisiana, where women make $0.69 against a man’s dollar.
    • Latina women make $0.54 per a white man’s dollar
    • Native women make $0.57
    • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women make $0.61
    • Black women make $0.62
    • White, non-Hispanic, women make $0.79
    • Asian women make $0.90
  • The median pay for women adds up to an annual wage gap of over $10,000.
    • That’s 100 months of Netflix subscriptions
    • 9 iPhone 11 Pro Maxes
    • 10 VIP Coachella tickets
    • 833 SunLife bowls
    • 34 Disneyland Park Hopper tickets
    • 40 Airpods Pro
    • 222 Hydro Flasks

One misconception is that the wage gap is created by women choosing lower-paying jobs than men. But the wage gap is present for women with every level of education, in every industry and every occupation.

  • Women earn 57% of all undergraduate degrees.
  • 59% of all master’s degrees
  • 48% of all law degrees
  • 47.5% of all medical degrees
  • Women hold 23.6% of Congress seats.
  • Women hold 29.3% of statewide elective positions.
  • Women hold 28.9% of state legislature seats.

These are the highest percentages in history.

Twenty-two states have never elected a female governor, including California, New York, Colorado and Florida.