Conversation Starter: Gender pay gap widens in 2023

The gender pay gap widened in 2023, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the first statistically significant deterioration since two decades prior in 2003. The ratio of female to male earnings fell to 82.7% in 2023 from 84% in 2022. This data clearly shows that there is still a long road ahead to fully closing the gender pay gap.

However, there are some reasons for optimism that 2024 will see progress continue. For one, Glassdoor’s estimate of the gender pay gap shrank from 84.7% in 2023 to 85.9% in 2024 year-to-date. Glassdoor salary data comes straight from workers and can show trends in pay in real time.

Additionally, the share of working age (25–54) women employed reached a record high in May 2024 of 75.7%. As of August 2024, the prime-age female employment-population ratio remains at 75.6%, just a tick below the record high set in May. Even as the economy has cooled recently, several years of a strong job market has helped ensure women who want jobs are able to find them. A strong job market can help narrow inequities in the labor market by incentivizing employers to invest in underserved talent pools.

Maintaining a strong job market can help narrow the gender pay gap. Other tools like transparency, whether from online resources like Glassdoor’s salaries data or professional communities, are also critical to ensuring women have the information and support they need to negotiate for the pay they deserve.

Methodology

Glassdoor’s estimate of the gender pay gap comes from over 4 million self-reported salaries from U.S. full-time and part-time employees. We calculate the ratio of mean female earnings to mean male earnings for jobs held in 2023 or 2024. Data for 2024 is year-to-date through May 16, 2024.