Pay Equity
The federal Equal Pay Act requires equal pay for equal work in the same establishment, and Title VII prohibits pay discrimination more broadly; several states go further with a comparable-work standard. The headline gap figure — women's median weekly earnings were 83 per cent of men's in 2024 — measures the whole workforce, not two people doing the same job, and confusing those two claims is the single most common error in this subject.
Pay equity is discussed with more numbers and less precision than any other topic here. Two figures get used interchangeably and they answer completely different questions.
The two claims
The unadjusted gap compares all women's earnings with all men's. It is a fact about the labor market: who works in which occupations, at what hours, at what levels. In 2024 that figure was 83 per cent for full-time workers, and it has sat between 81 and 84 per cent since 2010.
The adjusted gap compares people matched on occupation, experience, hours and other factors. It is smaller, and it is not the same claim — it asks whether like is paid like, having accepted the sorting as given.
Neither is the honest number. They answer different questions, and quoting one while arguing the other is where most of the confusion in this subject comes from.
What the law actually requires
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires equal pay for jobs requiring substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions in the same establishment. Title VII prohibits compensation discrimination on protected grounds more broadly. Several states have moved beyond "equal" to "substantially similar" or comparable work, which widens who counts as a comparator.
Lawful differences exist
A seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring production, or a genuine factor other than sex can all justify a pay difference. That last defense is the one litigated most, and several states have narrowed it — notably by excluding salary history.
Where the federal landscape has moved
Executive Order 11246, which for sixty years imposed affirmative action and pay-related obligations on federal contractors, was revoked in January 2025 and enforcement stopped. The statutes — the Equal Pay Act, Title VII, Section 503 and VEVRAA — are untouched by that.
What an equal pay claim actually needs
A named comparator. Not a market average and not an impression — a real person of the opposite sex doing substantially equal work who is paid more. That requirement is why pay transparency rules matter so much here: without them the comparator is invisible.
Then both jobs written out by actual duties with rough time shares, mapped against skill, effort and responsibility. That document decides most of these cases, and it is far easier to produce now than to reconstruct later.
Articles in this section
- The Gender Pay Gap: What the Number Measures 1 min read
- Adjusted and Unadjusted Pay Gaps Are Different Claims 1 min read
- Equal Pay Laws Beyond the Federal Standard 1 min read
- Salary History Bans: Where They Apply 1 min read
- What Counts as Comparable Work 1 min read
- Pay Gap Reporting Requirements by Country 1 min read
- Reasons an Employer Can Lawfully Pay Two People Differently 1 min read
- How Pay Gaps Open Up Over the Course of a Career 1 min read
- What the Published Data Shows on Pay Gaps by Group 1 min read
- What to Do If You Believe You Are Underpaid Unlawfully 1 min read
Common questions
What is the gender pay gap figure?
Women's median usual weekly earnings were 83 per cent of men's among full-time workers in 2024, up from 62 per cent in 1979 and within the 81 to 84 per cent band since 2010.
Does that mean unequal pay for the same job?
No. It compares the whole workforce, including who works in which occupations and at what level. That is a different claim from like-for-like pay.
What does the Equal Pay Act require?
Equal pay for jobs requiring substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions in the same establishment.
When can an employer lawfully pay two people differently?
Under a seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring production, or a genuine factor other than sex u2014 the last of which several states have narrowed.
Did federal contractor rules change?
Yes. Executive Order 11246 was revoked in January 2025 and enforcement ceased. The underlying statutes were not affected.
Can this site calculate my own gap?
No. The wage data used across this site carries no breakdown by sex or race, so every figure in this section is sourced to the Current Population Survey instead.
Getting Paid Correctly
Equity is about what two people are paid. The last section is about whether you receive what you were promised.
Read it →