Washington, D.C. (March 15, 2022)—Today, to mark Equal Pay Day, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, released a Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis of women’s representation in management positions across an array of industries, and the status of the pay gap between men and women managers.  Equal Pay Day marks the day to which the average working woman must work just to earn the same amount that the average working man was paid for comparable work during the previous year.  Chairwoman Maloney issued the following statement: 

“As we mark yet another Equal Pay Day, we must confront the dark reality that the gender pay gap still exists in this country.  Today’s GAO report shows that women in management earn an average of nearly $35,000 less than male managers.  It is my hope that this troubling report will help jumpstart policy solutions to address longstanding inequality and finally close the wage gap.  This includes passing the Paycheck Fairness Act, standing up for workers’ rights to a fair workplace, and recognizing the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment in order to combat gender discrimination at all levels.”      

The GAO report released today concludes that, in 2019, women held 42% of management positions, which is a 2% increase since 2007.  In the majority of the industries studied in this report, the percentage of women in management positions was lower than the percentage of women in non-management positions.

The report also finds that, for every dollar the average male manager is paid, the average female manager is paid 71 cents, resulting in an average difference in annual pay of $34,977.  Compared to a white male manager:

  • An Asian American female manager makes $21,582 less every year
  • A Black female manager makes $54,841 less every year
  • A Latina manager makes $59,069 less every year
  • A white female manager makes $37,921 less every year

Consistent with its previous analysis of 2007 data, GAO found that in 2019, female managers were more likely to be younger, less likely to be white, and less likely to be married than male managers.  In a reversal from 2007, however, women in management were more likely to have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to men in management in 2019. 

The pay gap for women in management over the age of 40 was larger than for those under 40. 

Background:

Today, the average woman is paid 83 cents for every dollar paid to a man.  For women of color, who have been most harmed by the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the gender wage gap is significantly worse.

On March 24, 2021, the Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing featuring testimony from U.S. Women’s National Team player Megan Rapinoe, to examine the roots and impacts of the gender pay gap on women and families, and particularly how pay inequity disproportionately burdens women of color.  

Today’s new analysis is an update to previous studies GAO issued in 2001 and 2010 at the request of Chairwoman Maloney and the late Rep. John D. Dingell.  On June 4, 2021, Chairwoman Maloney requested that GAO update its analysis of the gender pay gap in the United States, workplace inequities for women, and steps the federal government can take to better track these disparities.  GAO accepted the request and plans to release a full report in the next year using more current data that has been collected during the coronavirus pandemic.