Gender Pay Gap by Industry Statistics for 2026

Overview

The gender pay gap remains a persistent issue across virtually all industries in 2026, though the size of the gap varies dramatically by sector. Understanding these industry-specific disparities helps job seekers and employers address systemic inequities.

This report examines both the "uncontrolled" gender pay gap (comparing all men to all women regardless of job) and the "controlled" gap (comparing men and women in the same jobs with similar qualifications). The data reveals that while progress has been made, significant disparities persist even when controlling for role and experience.

Key Statistics

Detailed Findings

Overall Gender Pay Gap: Controlled vs. Uncontrolled

Understanding the difference between controlled and uncontrolled pay gaps is essential to grasping the full picture of gender pay disparities.

• $0.83 (17% gap) — Uncontrolled gender pay gap in 2025, meaning women collectively earn 17% less than men (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• $0.99 (1% gap) — Controlled gender pay gap in 2025, meaning women earn 1% less than men when accounting for job title and qualifications (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• 85% in 2024 — Women's earnings as a percentage of men's in the United States according to Pew Research analysis of median hourly earnings (Source: Pew Research, 2025)
• 18.0% in 2024 — Gender wage gap according to Economic Policy Institute analysis, the lowest it has ever been (Source: EPI, 2024)
• Both gaps matter — The uncontrolled gap reveals overall economic disparity, while the controlled gap shows that some women receive unequal pay even in identical roles
• Gaps unchanged year-over-year — Both the controlled and uncontrolled gaps have stalled at these levels, showing no improvement from 2024 to 2025 (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Gender Pay Gap by Industry (Uncontrolled)

Industry-specific pay gaps reveal where disparities are most severe. The uncontrolled gap shows how women's overall economic participation differs by sector.

• Finance & Insurance: $0.78 (22% gap) — Widest uncontrolled pay gap, with women earning significantly less than men overall in this sector (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Agencies & Consultancies: $0.84 (16% gap) — Second widest gap despite women representing 59% of workers in this industry (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Healthcare: $0.89 (11% gap) — Women represent 76% of healthcare workers but still earn less than men (Source: Payscale citing BLS, 2025)
• Education: $0.91 (9% gap) — Women represent 69% of education workers, with a smaller but persistent gap (Source: Payscale citing BLS, 2025)
• Nonprofits: $0.88 (12% gap) — Women represent 67% of nonprofit workers, yet significant pay disparities remain (Source: Payscale citing BLS, 2025)
• All industries have gaps — Even in female-dominated industries like healthcare and education, pay disparities persist (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Gender Pay Gap by Industry (Controlled)

When controlling for job title and qualifications, some industries achieve pay parity while others maintain significant gaps.

• Technology, Engineering & Science: Closed (pay parity achieved) — Women and men in the same roles earn equally in STEM industries (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Healthcare: Closed (pay parity achieved) — Despite the large uncontrolled gap, controlled data shows equal pay for equal work (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Transportation & Warehousing: Widest controlled gap — This industry shows the largest controlled pay disparity (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Finance & Insurance: Gap persists — Even when controlling for role, significant disparities remain in finance (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Note on STEM — While STEM achieves pay parity when controlled, women remain underrepresented in higher-paying jobs within these industries (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Gender Pay Gap by Occupation

Occupational categories show dramatic variation in pay gaps, with some of the widest disparities appearing in traditionally male-dominated fields.

• Legal: $0.63 (37% gap) — Widest uncontrolled occupational pay gap (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Farming, Fishing, & Forestry: $0.77 (23% gap) uncontrolled, $0.89 (11% gap) controlled — Wide gaps even when controlling for role, the worst controlled occupational gap (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Management: $0.79 (21% gap) — Third-widest uncontrolled gap (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance: $0.80 (20% gap) uncontrolled, Closed when controlled — Shows how occupational segregation drives disparities (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Education, Training, & Library: $0.85 (15% gap) uncontrolled, Closed when controlled — Female-dominated field with persistent overall gap (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Community & Social Services: $0.97 (3% gap) — Smallest uncontrolled gap, and closes completely when controlled (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Several occupations achieve parity — When controlled, Education, Community Services, Arts/Design/Entertainment, Personal Care, Legal, and Building Maintenance all close the gap (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Age and Career Progression Impact

The gender pay gap widens as women age and progress in their careers, with the largest disparities appearing among older workers and executives.

• Ages 20-29: $0.86 uncontrolled, $1.00 controlled — Young women achieve pay parity in same roles but face overall gap due to job distribution (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Ages 30-44: $0.81 uncontrolled, $0.98 controlled — Gap widens in this age bracket, coinciding with prime childbearing years (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Ages 45+: $0.72 uncontrolled — Widest gap among older women, decreased by 2 cents from previous year (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Motherhood penalty drives age gaps — Women becoming mothers and leaving workforce or taking lower-paying flexible jobs explains widening gaps by age (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Individual Contributors: Equal when controlled — Entry-level workers see pay parity when accounting for same roles (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Executives: $0.72 uncontrolled, $0.93 controlled — Even at the executive level with same qualifications, women earn 7% less (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Women climb slower — Men are more likely to become directors and executives while women remain individual contributors (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Parenthood and the Motherhood Penalty

The impact of parenthood on pay is one of the most significant drivers of the gender wage gap, with stark differences between mothers and fathers.

• Mothers: $0.75 uncontrolled, $0.98 controlled — Mothers earn 25% less than fathers overall, and 2% less even in the same roles (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Fathers earn a premium — Fathers earn 2% more than childless men when controlled, showing a "fatherhood bonus" (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Childless women: $0.88 uncontrolled, $1.00 controlled — Women without children achieve pay parity in same roles and face smaller overall gap (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Childbearing penalty exists — Even women who don't have children face pay gaps due to the expectation they might become mothers (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Having children is the primary cause — Research suggests that having a child or being able to have a child is the primary driver of gender pay disparities (Source: Vox research cited by Payscale)

Education Levels and Pay Equity

Higher education does not eliminate the gender pay gap, and in some cases, women with advanced degrees face wider disparities.

• High school degree: $0.97 controlled — Smallest controlled gap at this education level (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Bachelor's degree: Closed when controlled — Pay parity achieved for same roles with bachelor's (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• MBA: $0.77 uncontrolled — Widest gap at the MBA level, persisting year over year (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Law degree: $0.87 uncontrolled — Decreased by 1 cent but still significant (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Health professional doctorates: $0.89 uncontrolled — Smallest gap among advanced degrees (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Higher education doesn't guarantee equity — Advanced degrees often correlate with wider uncontrolled gaps (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Race and Ethnicity Intersectionality

The gender pay gap is compounded for women of color, who face both gender and racial pay disparities.

• Asian women: $0.95 uncontrolled — Smallest gap among women of color, closes when controlled (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Most women of color achieve parity when controlled — With bachelor's degrees and accounting for job characteristics, controlled gaps close (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: $0.88 uncontrolled — Better than overall average (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Hispanic mothers and Native American mothers — Face the widest controlled gaps at executive level ($0.91) (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• American Indian and Native Alaskan women executives: $0.63 uncontrolled — Lowest earnings ratio when comparing all women to all white men at executive level (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Remote Work and Work-From-Home Status

Where and how women work impacts their pay, with remote workers facing both advantages and challenges.

• Work from home full-time: $0.78 uncontrolled — Wider pay gap for women who work from home, likely because more men occupy high-paying remote roles (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Work from home some of the time: Controlled gap closes — Women with autonomy over hybrid work achieve pay parity in same roles (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Flexibility matters — Some autonomy in choosing remote work correlates with better pay equity (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Geographic Variations and Pay Transparency Laws

State and local pay transparency laws are beginning to show positive effects on closing controlled gender pay gaps.

• 6 out of 10 states — States with statewide pay transparency laws prior to 2025 have closed the controlled gender pay gap (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• States with closed controlled gaps — California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington D.C., plus newly closed Alabama, Delaware, Nebraska, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and West Virginia (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• 13 major metros closed controlled gap — Baltimore, Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Raleigh, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• Pay transparency correlation — Locations with pay transparency laws are more likely to show closed controlled gaps, though not universally (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• No metros closed uncontrolled gap — While controlled gaps have closed in some metros, occupational segregation keeps uncontrolled gaps open everywhere (Source: Payscale, 2025)

Trends Over Time

Long-term trends show slow but steady progress, with recent stagnation raising concerns about future improvements.

• 1979: Women earned 63% — of what men earned (Source: BLS via Equal Pay Today, 2000)
• 1990: Women earned 72% — of what men earned (Source: Contexts.org via Equal Pay Today, 1990)
• 2000: Women earned 76% — of what men earned (Source: BLS via Equal Pay Today, 2001)
• 2024: Women earned 85% — of what men earned (Source: Pew Research, 2025)
• 18.0% in 2024 (lowest ever) — Gender wage gap according to EPI, down from 18.9% in 2023 and 20.0% in 2022 (Source: EPI, 2024)
• Progress has stalled 2024-2025 — The controlled and uncontrolled gaps showed no improvement from 2024 to 2025 (Source: Payscale, 2025)
• 134 years to global parity — At current rates, it will take 134 years to achieve global gender parity (Source: World Economic Forum via Equal Pay Today)

What This Means for You

Industry Choice Matters Significantly

If you're entering Finance & Insurance, be prepared for a 22% overall pay gap and persistent disparities even in the same roles. Healthcare and Tech/Engineering/Science show better controlled pay equity, though uncontrolled gaps remain due to occupational segregation.

Negotiate Every Offer

The $0.99 controlled gap means some women receive less pay even in identical roles. Never accept the first salary offer without negotiating. Research market rates, document your qualifications, and advocate for equal pay from day one.

Geographic Location Influences Pay Equity

States and cities with pay transparency laws show better controlled pay equity. Consider targeting employers in California, New York, Connecticut, or major metros like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York where transparency laws create accountability.

The Motherhood Penalty Is Real

Mothers earn $0.75 for every dollar fathers earn overall, and $0.98 even in the same roles, while fathers earn a 2% premium. Plan for career continuity during parenthood, negotiate flexible arrangements, and resist gaps in employment that compound lifetime earnings losses.

Higher Education Doesn't Guarantee Pay Equity

Women with MBAs face the widest gap ($0.77 uncontrolled), and even with advanced degrees, disparities persist. Education is important, but it must be combined with strategic career choices, strong negotiation, and selecting employers committed to pay equity.

Demand Transparency and Accountability

During interviews, ask about the company's pay equity practices, whether they conduct regular pay audits, and how they ensure fair compensation. Organizations committed to equity will welcome these questions and provide clear answers.

Track Your Own Data

Document your achievements, contributions, and market value throughout your career. If you suspect pay inequity, gather data on comparable roles and salaries. Many states have pay transparency laws that give you the right to know salary ranges.

Methodology

This report synthesizes data from Payscale's 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report (analyzing over 369,000 U.S. salary survey responses from January 2023 to January 2025), Pew Research Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Economic Policy Institute wage gap research, and additional sources tracking gender pay disparities.

Payscale's methodology examines both controlled gaps (accounting for job title, experience, education, and other compensable factors) and uncontrolled gaps (comparing all men to all women regardless of role). Industry and occupation breakdowns use Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey data for gender representation.

Sources

1. Payscale - 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report (GPGR) (January 2025)
2. Pew Research Center - Gender pay gap in US has narrowed slightly over 2 decades (March 2025)
3. Economic Policy Institute - Gender pay gap hits historic low in 2024—but remains too large (2024)
4. Bankrate - Here's Where Gender Pay Gaps Are The Widest, By State, Industry And More (September 2025)
5. Equal Pay Today - Gender Pay Gap Statistics 2026: A Comprehensive Analysis (January 2026)
6. Young Women's Trust - ONS gender pay gap stats response 2024 (October 2024)
7. Qureos - Gender Pay Gap by Industry and Region in 2025 (July 2025)