March 25, 2025 is Equal Pay Day – a symbolic day when women’s earnings catch up to men’s earnings from the previous year. What this means is women have to work nearly four months into 2025 to be paid as much as white men in 2024.
Equal Pay Day was first observed by the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1996 with the intention of bringing more awareness to the gap between women’s and men’s wages and eliminate wage discrimination to achieve pay equity. The date changes annually to reflect the previous year's wage gap between women and men.
The current gender wage gap for women is 83% for full-time, year-round workers and 75% for all workers (including part-time and seasonal workers). Globally, women earn approximately 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. This wage disparity is even worse for many BIPOC women. In the United States, data from the Current Population Survey (CPS)’s 2024 Annual Social and Economic Supplement report shows that in 2023, compared to every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men:
- Asian American women working full-time were paid 94 cents.
- White women working full-time were paid 80 cents.
- Black women working full-time were paid 66 cents.
- Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women working full-time were paid 65 cents.
- Latinas and Native American women working full-time were paid 58 cents.
Higher education doesn’t resolve this gender wage gap – men still earn more than women even when they have Bachelor’s degrees in the same field. On average, full-time working women with bachelor's degrees earn 26% less than their male coworkers. Women are often under-represented in higher-paying fields, such as STEM, but the gender wage persists even in these fields.
CREATING CHANGE
YWCA is on a mission to overcome racial and gender disparities, and reduce the institutional and societal barriers that drive inequalities in compensation, education, and employment opportunities. Women represent 47% of the workforce in the United States, and we believe all women deserve equitable pay for their work.
CareerWork$ and BankWork$ program participants in class and networking with employers.
We offer a variety of Economic Advancement programs which help low-income community members overcome barriers to employment, secure living wage jobs, and build career pathways. Participants gain equitable opportunities, job skills, education, computer classes, internships, job placement, and more. Some of our programs include:
- BankWork$ – Designed to prepare low-income job seekers for banking positions as a first step on the career ladder in the financial services industry. Weekly participation from bank recruiters and executives help participants learn banking skills that replicate the workplace. Participants also receive job placement assistance and career coaching to succeed in the workplace, allowing them to retain their positions and to take advantage of advancement opportunities.
- CareerWork$ Ready – A free, online program focused on job readiness skills, 30-second commercials, revamping resumes, networking, interviewing, communication skills, online applications, Microsoft Office skills, and soft skills needed to land a job. This program includes monthly job fairs with multiple employers in a wide range of industries (health care, finance, manufacturing, retail, tech, etc.) to help participants find the right fit.
- PharmacyWork$ – A free, online job readiness training designed to help job seekers access opportunities, prepare for high demand jobs, and gain experience so they can enter the pharmaceutical field and pursue certification, including the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board’s PTCB exam.
Past graduates of our BankWork$ and CareerWork$ programs.
Learn more about the gender wage gap and its impact on our blog:
- Black Women Equal Pay Day
- Opportunity Gap vs Equal Pay Gap
- Why are BIPOC Women more likely to have student debt?
- The Biggest Racial Inequity in America isn't Income Inequality
Learn more about Equal Pay Day:
- Gender Pay Gap Statistics 2025: A Comprehensive Analysis
- Equal Pay Day Calendar
- Equal pay for work of equal value
- History of Equal Pay Day
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Ana Rodriguez-Knutsen is the Content Specialist for YWCA's Marketing & Editorial team. From fiction writing to advocacy, Ana works with an intersectional mindset to uplift and amplify the voices of underrepresented communities.
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