We still need an inclusive economic policy, 60 years after the Equal Pay Act of 1963 

Sixty years ago, on June 10, 1963, The Equal Pay Act, which prohibited pay discrimination on the basis of sex, was passed. Today, Black, Latina, Indigenous, and trans women still face wage gaps on par with the gap faced by white women in the 1960s, making just over half than what men make. The anniversary of this legislation is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made addressing income inequality and the substantial work still to be done. Though the gender-based wage gap has declined considerably over the past half century, that progress has stalled, it has disproportionately benefited white women while racial wage gaps remain deep and persistent, and current political attacks on trans and nonbinary people push us even further from widespread equality. 

In 1963, women earned just 59 cents for every dollar a man earned. Today, that figure has increased to 84 cents. However, that progress has slowed considerably, barely changing in the past 20 years after significant gains following the passage of the Equal Rights Act, and especially in the 1980s and early 2000s. Furthermore, most of that progress has been experienced by white women, meaning the wage gap between white women and women of color has grown over the same period. For every dollar earned by a white male worker, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women make 80 cents. Black women make only 64 cents, Latinas make 54 cents, and Native women make only 51 cents. These figures are averages that include part-time and part-year workers, who are disproportionately women and people of color and tend to have lower wages. 

Although large, historical data sources do not provide detailed or longitudinal data on wages and gender identities, recent surveys suggest that trans women face even more significant wage gaps. Regardless of race, trans women earn only 60 cents compared to the national average. In addition, trans people are twice as likely to be unemployed, and one study found trans women made one third less following transition. Though racially disaggregated data on trans experiences are not currently collected, trans women of color likely experience the most severe wage gap in the country. The wage gaps faced by Black, Latina, Indigenous, and trans women are stark, and show how far we are from a truly inclusive economy. 

One of the key causes of the persistence of wage gaps in our labor market is occupational segregation — the overrepresentation of some groups in certain occupations and their underrepresentation in others. Women, for example, make up 88 percent of nurses and 94 percent of childcare workers, but only 8 percent of electrical engineers and 3 percent of auto mechanics. Home health aides, one of the lowest paid and fastest growing occupations, are overwhelmingly Black and Latina women. The reasons for occupational segregation are complex, and for many occupations rooted in slavery. Because of this centuries-long history of undervaluing work done by women, and especially women of color, occupations that disproportionately employ these people are underpaid, fueling the persistent wage gap. 

When we consider characteristics of jobs beyond pay, the impacts of occupational segregation are intensified. Access to benefits and opportunities for advancement, like wages, are not equally distributed, leading to a triple gap of wages, benefits, and opportunities. Women and people of color are less likely to have access to key workplace benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid leave, than men and white workers. Across gender, the gap is narrower than for wages. Across race, it is more pronounced. So, although white women are slightly less likely to have access to benefits than men, women of color are substantially less likely, exacerbating the wage gap they experience. Since retirement savings are one of the key ways people build wealth, the gap in access to retirement plans has long-term economic consequences, directly contributing to the depth and persistence of wealth gaps, which are wider and more persistent than wage gaps. Today, families headed by Black women own just 5 cents for every dollar of wealth held by families headed by white men, while families headed by Latina women had just 10 cents, and those headed by white women had 56 cents. In addition, trans and nonbinary people and bisexual women have fewer financial assets than other groups. 

Beyond both wages and benefits, opportunities for advancement are key to workers’ economic success. The opportunities provide pathways to higher wages and more wealth-building, providing the potential to close gaps. However, women and people of color are less likely to be promoted than white men. Approximately 58 percent of managers are men, and 67 percent are white. For every 100 men who are promoted from entry-level roles to manager positions, only 87 women and only 82 women of color are promoted. There is a smaller portion of LGBTQ people at higher levels of management than across the workforce overall, indicating advancement gaps for this population as well. Trans people in particular are more likely than similarly aged cisgender peers to be in entry-level positions, and less likely to have management or hiring responsibilities.  

With lower wages, fewer benefits, and less opportunity for advancement, women of color and trans people are far from the goal of economic equality that was the goal of the Equal Pay Act. While the era of that legislation was defined by substantial progress advancing civil rights, today’s political climate is much different, defined more by polarization and fear. We need economic policy and labor protections designed for those who have been most excluded and who face the biggest gaps — including trans women of color — but are instead seeing growing numbers of laws attacking these people. Until all wage gaps have been eradicated–and especially those faced by Black women, Latina, Indigenous women, and trans women–the vision of the Equal Pay Act will not be complete. 

Shelly Steward, PhD, director of the Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative. Virgil Parker is 2020 William Randolph Hearst Fellow at The Aspen Institute.