Between 2018 and 2019, there has been no progress toward closing the gender pay gap and addressing gender stratification, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Still, the average working woman earns $0.82 for every dollar a white man earns.
When broken down by race, the gaps widen further for many women of color. The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) breaks down the pay gap by racial and ethnic background:
- In 2018, Asian women — who statistically make the closest to white men’s earnings — earned $0.90 for every dollar a white man earned, and in 2019, that gap widened to $0.87.
- White women remained at an average of $0.79 between 2018 and 2019. Black women saw the pay gap widen by just one cent, from $0.62 in 2018 to $0.63 in 2019.
- Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women’s earnings improved by two cents from $0.61 in 2018 and $0.63 in 2019.
- Native American women made $0.57 in 2018 and $0.60 in 2019.
- Latina women still make the least out of every racial group, with $0.57 in 2018 and $0.60 in 2019.
According to the Census data, the 2019 median income for men who work full-time year-round is $57,456. For women, that number drops to $47,299. Poverty rates also reveal greater gender stratification and racial inequality, according to the NWLC’s analysis. Eighteen percent of Black women and 15% of Latina women lived in poverty last year compared to 6% of white, non-Hispanic men.
