At Team JTC, we’ve noticed how often the conversation about pay inequity ignores the deeper intersections—like how race and age amplify the gap or how caregiving penalties hit women hardest. The gender pay gap has been around for decades, and despite a lot of noise, several policies, and huge commitments, women are still paid less than men. And let’s not forget, this pay gap doesn’t hit everyone the same way—it’s worse for women of color and older women.
But how did we get here? And, more importantly, how do we fix it?
How It All Started
Women working full-time in 2023 earned approximately 84 cents for every dollar earned by men. According to the 2024 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, the U.S. ranks 22nd out of 146 countries for gender parity in “Economic Participation and Opportunity.” While this might seem respectable at first glance, the U.S. still trails behind nations like Iceland, Finland, and Norway, where aggressive policies on equal pay and workplace equity have narrowed the gap significantly.
At the start of the 20th century, societal norms kept most women out of the workforce. In 1900, only 20% of women worked, and that number dropped to 5% for married women, as cultural expectations and limited access to education restricted their opportunities. Even when women did work, pay discrimination was blatant—saleswomen in the 1920s earned half as much as their male counterparts for the same job.
The 1930s New Deal programs further entrenched inequalities by excluding many jobs dominated by women of color, like domestic and agricultural work, from protections. These systemic inequities still echo in today’s pay gap.
Though women’s participation in the workforce increased throughout the 20th century, they consistently earned less than men. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 outlawed pay discrimination, but loopholes persisted, and pregnancy discriminationwasn’t banned until 1978. From 1979 to 1993, women’s earnings rose from 62% to 77% of men’s, partly due to the growing value placed on people skills. Unfortunately, progress has stalled since then, with only a 7–8% improvement over the last three decades.
Race, Age, and the Layers of Inequality
As of 2024, women in the U.S. make about 83.6 cents for every dollar men earn. For younger women—those aged 20 to 24—the gap starts smaller, with women earning 92.5 cents to the dollar. Sounds decent, right? But hold on. By the time women hit their late 20s and early 30s, the ratio drops to 89 cents, and it only gets worse from there.
The gender pay gap becomes even more glaring when you take age into the equation. For women aged 55 to 64, the gap becomes a canyon: they’re earning just 77.2 cents for every dollar men make. By 65 and older, things improve a little to 82.7 cents, but let’s be honest: that’s still far from equal. It’s clear that the wage gap actively grows wider as women stay in the workforce longer, hitting them hardest when they’re at the peak of their careers and beyond.
What about women of color? That’s where things really take a dive. Latinas earn just 58 cents, and Black women only about 66 cents compared to non-Hispanic White men. Meanwhile, AANHPI women appear to fare better at 97 cents, but let’s not pat ourselves on the back yet—disparities within that group, especially Asian women, are often ignored.
So, What’s the Fix?
Solutions to the gender pay gap exist, and many aren’t new—they’ve been proven in parts of the world. Here’s where we begin:
Make Pay Transparent. You can’t fix what you can’t see. Pay transparency laws, like those mandated by the European Union, force companies to spill the beans on salary gaps. Under these rules, EU companies must share wage details and take action if their gender pay gap exceeds 5%. Employees who experience pay discrimination can seek compensation, and companies that break the rules face tough penalties—fines included. Once those numbers are out there, businesses are far more likely to clean up their act.
To replicate this effect, start with pay audits. Regularly review compensation data and share the results with employees. Transparency builds trust and forces accountability.
Rethink How You Hire and Promote. Despite a decade of incremental progress, the 2024 Women in the Workplace report reveals systemic barriers persist: for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women (and 54 Black women) advance, perpetuating the “broken rung” that stalls leadership pipelines. While women now hold 29% of C-suite roles—up from 17% in 2015—these gains are concentrated in non-revenue-generating staff positions (e.g., HR) rather than line roles like CEO.
Skill-based hiring reforms show promise: 76% of companies now use standardized criteria to debias evaluations, and 69% provide bias training for hiring managers. Yet outdated practices like requiring “years of experience” for entry-level jobs still gatekeep opportunities, which disproportionately excludes women and non-traditional candidates.
Stop Penalizing Caregivers. Women shoulder the majority of caregiving responsibilities, and that often translates into fewer promotions and raises. Companies like Patagonia get it. They offer on-site childcare, paid parental leave, and flexible schedules—and guess what? While the average U.S. turnover rate is 57%, Patagonia’s stands at a remarkable 4%.
If you want to keep your top talent, support them. Offer flexible work arrangements (contrary to what we’re experiencing), provide childcare benefits, and stop penalizing people for putting family first.
The Path Ahead
Many of us like to think the gender pay gap has something to do with abstract economic issues, but it’s not. It’s a daily reality for millions of women. Fixing it demands changes even if it means reworking our workplace and norms.
Whether you’re a business leader, a hiring manager, or just someone who wants to make a difference, you can play a role. Start by advocating for pay transparency, rethinking how you hire, and pushing for family-friendly policies in your workplace. Support women in your community, become a mentor, and don’t stay quiet when you see inequity in action.
