Equal Worth, Equal Pay
Taken at the 2019 DC Women’s March
Despite decades of progress, the gender pay gap in the United States remains a critical issue that continues to shape the economic realities for millions of women. This disparity between men’s and women’s earnings is not simply a result of individual career choices, but rather reflects deep-seated structural inequalities that influence the value placed on women’s labor. This is not just a statistic or a distant policy debate, but rather a reality that millions of women face every single day.
As of 2023, women in the U.S. earn about 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This 18% wage gap means that over the course of a 40-year career, women can lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential earnings—money that could otherwise go toward their families, their education, their homes, or their retirement. For women of color, the gender pay gap is even wider. On average, Black women earn 63 cents, Latina women earn 55 cents, and Native American women earn 60 cents for every dollar earned by a white, non-Hispanic man.
One of the largest contributors to the pay gap is occupational segregation, where men and women are concentrated in different professions. Women are more likely to work in industries such as education, healthcare, and social services, which tend to offer lower wages compared to male-dominated fields like technology, finance, and engineering. These “caring” professions, often referred to as “pink-collar” jobs, are essential to society but have been historically undervalued and underpaid. Women are significantly underrepresented in STEM fields, particularly in areas like engineering, computer science, and information technology. According to data from the National Science Foundation, women make up only 28% of the workforce in STEM fields overall, and the percentage is even lower in specific fields. For example, in computer science, women represent less than 20% of graduates and professionals, and in engineering, that number falls to just 15%.
Furthermore, women are more likely than men to take time off or reduce their working hours to care for children or elderly family members. This “motherhood penalty” results in a loss of earnings, slower career advancement, and reduced retirement savings. In the U.S., the lack of paid family leave and affordable childcare forces many women to make tough choices between their careers and their families, often to their financial detriment. For families, the pay gap can mean fewer resources for children’s education, healthcare, and overall well-being. Since women are often the primary caregivers, the financial impact of the pay gap extends beyond individual women to the next generation.
Women deserve to be paid fairly for their work, and the fact that they are not is a clear indication that gender discrimination is still very much alive. As a feminist, this fight is deeply personal. It’s about more than numbers: it’s about respect, equality, and human dignity. It’s about recognizing that women are not just contributing members of the workforce but leaders, innovators, and caretakers whose worth should never be diminished by a paycheck.
