March is Women’s History Month, and to kick off this month of recognition of women’s achievements and contributions, but also of the barriers that women continue to face, we would like to highlight the latest information on the gender wage gap.

Image by Vinitha Mammen Oman for IWD 2022.

The gender wage gap is the average difference between the annual earnings of women and men. In 2021, for every dollar a man made, women made $0.82. The disparities deepen when considering race along with gender: on average, Black women earn $0.64, and Hispanic women $0.55 for every dollar a white man earns. In Texas, males earn on average $51,300/year, and females $40,748/year, resulting in a $10,552 difference per year. The U.S. Census Bureau points out that even though women both outnumber men and live longer, the gender wage gap widens as women age.

The pandemic has had little effect on narrowing the gender wage gap. The Great Resignation has affected men and women differently; one survey found that one in four women considered leaving or taking a step down in their careers, versus one in five men. Caregiving and childcare responsibilities continue to fall disproportionately on women, and women still face unconscious biases in the workplace that make advancing and recruiting for higher-level positions less likely.

Tuesday, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and this year everyone is encouraged to #BreakTheBias by recognizing and dismantling sex- and gender-based stereotypes and biases that contribute to gender inequality. The following Tuesday, March 15, is Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes “how far women must work into the year to earn what men earned in the previous year.”

Find resources for celebrating Women’s History Month this year at the following:

Check out these past Women’s History Month-themed Ex Libris Juris blog posts:

Ex Libris Juris - HCLL Blog