The gender-based wage gap in the United States has narrowed in recent years, but disparities remain, according to federal census data released this week.
National median earnings for civilians who worked full-time, year-round in the past 12 months was $53,544 for men compared to $43,394 for women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey (ACS).
Places in the U.S. with the highest wage gap between men and women included: Wyoming, $21,676; Utah, $17,303; and the District of Columbia, $16,032. In New Jersey, the wage gap was $13,434.
Nationwide, the median wage gap between full-time male and female workers was $10,150.
There are a multitude of factors that contribute to earnings differences between women and men: age, number of hours worked, presence of children, and education. The types of jobs women and men hold, and the earnings difference among these occupations also contribute to gaps in overall earnings.
The largest male occupations in New Jersey were software developers (median salary $122,160); managers (median salary $110,323); and truck drivers (median salary $50,089). The largest female occupations in New Jersey were managers (median salary $83,978); registered nurses (median salary $82,219); and secretaries (median salary $48,662).
Equal Pay Day — timed to represent how far into the year women must work to equal what men earned the previous year — is on March 15 this year. That’s earlier than it’s ever been since its inception in 1996. Last year, it occurred on March 24.
