A new report from Glassdoor finds the gender pay gap expands steadily over a woman’s career, with wage growth flattening in the mid-30s even as men’s earnings continue to rise into their 40s.
Drawing on millions of salary reviews and recent user polls, the research examines how pay differences evolve over time — and how some women are adjusting career strategies in response.
The Pay Gap Grows With Experience
Men earn 12% more than women at the start of their careers, though that early gap is explained by differences in role, industry and location rather than pay disparities within the same job.
By 10 years of experience, the overall gap widens to 19%. About 4 percentage points of that reflects a within-role pay difference — meaning women are earning less than men in comparable positions.
At 30 years of experience, the gap reaches 25%. The within-role difference increases only slightly to 5%, indicating that much of the later disparity stems from men moving into higher-paying roles at greater rates.
The report shows that women’s earnings largely plateau in their late 30s, while men’s wages continue to rise through their 40s.
Researchers attribute the widening gap to several factors, including occupational sorting into lower-paying fields, differences in promotion rates, workplace bias and unequal caregiving responsibilities.
Promotion Hesitation and Career Trade-Offs
A January 2026 poll of more than 2,500 U.S. professionals found women were nearly 10 percentage points less likely than men to say they felt comfortable pursuing roles above their current level.
Another poll of more than 2,300 workers found 54% of women and 57% of men worried that using benefits such as paid leave or flexible hours could hurt their careers.
The findings suggest advancement barriers may compound over time, particularly in mid-career stages when caregiving demands often increase.
Negotiating Beyond Base Pay
The report notes that when salary growth slows, some employees focus on total compensation — including paid time off, bonuses, relocation packages and flexibility — rather than base pay alone.
A separate poll found 29% of users had negotiated for greater flexibility when salary increases were not available.
While such strategies can improve work-life balance or short-term earnings, they do not eliminate structural differences in promotion and pay progression.
The findings point to a persistent challenge for employers navigating retention and advancement in a tight labor market: pay equity and career mobility remain central to workforce stability — particularly as mid-career women reassess long-term growth prospects.
As companies compete for experienced talent, the data suggests closing promotion and pay gaps may be as critical to future workforce planning as hiring itself.
