New Report Suggests That The Pandemic May Widen The Gender Pay Gap

A new report from PayScale reveals a reality that has plagued equality in the workplace for decades: women consistently make less than men for doing the same work.  

Released on Equal Pay Day, the 2022 Gender Pay Gap Report showed that women make 82 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts based on uncontrolled data. 

Using compensation data, the report was able to identify what the gender pay gap looks like in both controlled and uncontrolled data. Based on the controlled data, which measures “equal pay for equal work,” women were found to earn 99 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earned. 

While this data shows that the gap has slightly narrowed by 2 cents in 2015, the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on women may cause it to widen again.  

In fact, women made up 58% of the 3.5 million jobs that were lost due to the pandemic. 

Despite women trying to reenter the workforce, this group still experiences the bulk of pay gaps, earning just 70 cents compared to every dollar men make after over two years of unemployment. 

For women over 45, the gender pay gap sits at 73 cents for every dollar a man of the same age earns. 

In uncontrolled data, Indigenous women saw the biggest pay gap at 71 cents for every dollar earned by a man.  

In controlled data, Black women experience the largest pay gap, earning 98 cents for every dollar a man makes. Black women are also the most likely to be paid less despite having the same experience level as white men. 

Closing the pay gap between women and men is still far from reality, but collecting this type of data brings attention to these discrepancies. By doing so, women employees can better understand their worth, while forcing business leaders to take a hard look at why a gap exists in the first place.