The gender pay gap is real, it moved in 2025, and the headline number depends on who is counting and how. Here are the gender pay gap statistics that matter for women running companies and careers, with the fine print most roundups skip. I’m not here to hand you doom or a victory lap. I want you walking into your next compensation conversation knowing exactly which number to quote.
Gender Pay Gap Statistics: What the Latest Census Data Says
Start with the freshest official figure. Stat 1: According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Income in the United States: 2025 report, the female-to-male earnings ratio for full-time, year-round workers rose to 83.9 percent in 2025, up from 80.6 percent in 2024. That’s a real jump of more than three points in a single year.
Stat 2: The same Census release says median earnings for women who work full-time, year-round increased 3.2 percent between 2024 and 2025, while men’s earnings did not change significantly. So the gap narrowed because women’s pay rose, not because men’s pay fell.
Before you celebrate, remember the year before. Stat 3: As NPR reported on Equal Pay Day in March 2026, the 2024 Census data showed women earning 81 cents for every dollar men earned, down from 83 cents in the prior year and 84 cents the year before that. Advocates called it the first two-year widening since the 1960s. One good year doesn’t erase a two-year slide, and it certainly doesn’t close a gap.
Stat 4: The same NPR report notes that men’s median income rose 3.7 percent from 2023 to 2024, while women’s median income stayed flat. When the gap widens, it’s often because one side of the ledger sped up, so always ask which line moved.
Key Takeaways
- Women working full-time, year-round earned 83.9 percent of what men earned in 2025, up from 80.6 percent in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau).
- The “gender pay gap” is several different numbers, and the one you quote should match the group you’re talking about.
- Gaps are much wider for Black and Hispanic women, and the research on female CEO salary is thinner than the headlines suggest.
How to cite this article: McCloud, R. 2026. WomenCEO. 7 Gender Pay Gap Statistics Women Leaders Should Know in 2026. https://womenceo.co/article/gender-pay-gap-statistics/
Why the Gender Pay Gap Is Really Several Different Numbers
Ever notice that one article says 84 cents and the next says 78? Nobody’s lying. They’re measuring different groups. The gender pay gap shifts depending on whether you count only people working full-time all year or everyone who earns a wage.
Stat 5: The Center for American Progress ran the numbers for 2025 and found that women working full-time, year-round earned 84 cents for every dollar men earned, a three-cent improvement from 2024. But when it counted all women workers, including part-time and part-year, the figure fell to 78 cents. Here’s how to read the difference.
| Measure | Who it counts | 2025 figure | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census earnings ratio | Full-time, year-round workers | 83.9 percent | Quoting the official national number |
| CAP full-time analysis | Full-time, year-round workers | 84 cents per dollar | Comparing against race and ethnicity data |
| CAP all-workers analysis | All women workers, including part-time and part-year | 78 cents per dollar | Showing the cost of caregiving and career interruptions |
For founders, the all-workers number often hits closer to home. If you stepped back to raise kids, care for a parent, or build a company before it paid you, your own gender pay gap lives in that second row, not the first. Both are valid. Just say which one you mean.
The Gender Pay Gap by Race and Ethnicity
The national average hides the sharpest differences. Stat 6: The same Center for American Progress analysis compared full-time, year-round women with white, non-Hispanic men. White women earned 81 cents, Black women 64 cents, Hispanic women 60 cents, and Asian women 99 cents. The Black women’s gap widened by one cent from the prior year.
| Group (full-time, year-round) | Cents earned per dollar of white, non-Hispanic men |
|---|---|
| Asian women | 99 |
| White women | 81 |
| Black women | 64 |
| Hispanic women | 60 |
I’d argue this is where the conversation about women leaders gets most honest. A mentorship circle that only talks about the average isn’t serving the women who are furthest from it. That’s one reason we built WomenCEO as a no-waitlist, goal-based community instead of another exclusive club: the women who most need the room should be able to walk into it.
Female CEO Salary: What the Research Can and Can’t Say
Female CEO salary is a question many senior women ask, usually hoping for a clean number. I wish I had one. Stat 7: A reexamination of earlier research, covered by Becker’s Hospital Review, used data from 1996 to 2014 on more than 2,000 companies, 105 of them led by women. The authors concluded that researchers “cannot confidently infer that compensation of male and female CEOs differ.”
Read that carefully. It doesn’t say there’s no gap in the executive suite. It says that with so few women in the top job, the data can’t settle the question. Our deep dive on why Fortune 500 companies with women CEOs still hover near 11 percent explains why the sample is so small (very few women hold the top job), and our list of women CEOs shows who is leading right now.
The practical takeaway: don’t benchmark your pay against a CEO salary headline. Benchmark against the actual role, company stage and funding in your market.
What Women Leaders Can Do With These Numbers
Statistics are only useful if they change what you do on Monday. The person with the clearest facts usually walks out of a pay conversation with the better outcome. Here’s where I’d start.
- Quote the right number. If you’re negotiating, use the full-time, year-round figure. If you’re making the case for caregiving policies, use the all-workers one.
- Ask for the pay range before you name a number, then anchor to the role, not to your last salary.
- Find a mentor who has negotiated at your level. Our guide on how to find a mentor who actually moves your career forward walks through it.
If you’re building a team, audit your own pay bands before someone else does. Founders set the tone here, and the gap closes fastest where the person at the top decides it will. Publish your ranges internally, review offers for the same role side by side, and fix the outliers before they become a resignation letter. It’s unglamorous work, and it’s the work that actually moves the number inside your own company. For more on the wider picture, see our look at women in the workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gender Pay Gap Statistics
What are the latest gender pay gap statistics in the US?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women working full-time, year-round earned 83.9 percent of what men earned in 2025, up from 80.6 percent in 2024. The Center for American Progress put the figure at 84 cents for full-time workers and 78 cents when all women workers are counted.
Is the gender pay gap closing?
It improved in 2025, but not steadily. The 2024 data showed the gap widening for the second year in a row, so one year of progress doesn’t make a trend yet. Watch the next Census release before calling it a turnaround.
How does the gender pay gap differ by race?
Quite a lot. The Center for American Progress found that, compared with white, non-Hispanic men, Black women earned 64 cents, Hispanic women 60 cents, white women 81 cents and Asian women 99 cents on the dollar in 2025.
Why do some sources say 84 cents and others 78 cents?
The 84-cent figure counts only full-time, year-round workers. The 78-cent figure counts all women workers, including part-time and part-year. Both describe the gender pay gap, just for different groups.
Do female CEOs earn less than male CEOs?
The research is inconclusive. A study covering 1996 to 2014 concluded that researchers cannot confidently infer that male and female CEO compensation differ, partly because few companies had women CEOs. Female CEO salary comparisons need larger samples than we have today.
What is the best way to use pay gap data in a salary negotiation?
Use it to frame the conversation, then anchor your ask to the specific role and market range. Cite the right figure for your situation (and the year it comes from), and bring a mentor’s perspective if you can. Practicing the conversation out loud with someone who has had it before changes how steady you sound. Free events and mentorship inside WomenCEO exist for exactly this kind of prep.
References
- Center for American Progress. (2026). New CAP analysis finds gender wage gap narrowed in 2025 while affordability challenges deepen for women. https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release-new-cap-analysis-finds-gender-wage-gap-narrowed-in-2025-while-affordability-challenges-deepen-for-women/
- Becker’s Hospital Review. (2018, April 24). No significant difference between female, male CEO pay at publicly traded companies, study finds. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/compensation-issues/no-significant-difference-between-female-male-ceo-pay-at-publicly-traded-companies-study-finds
- National Public Radio. (2026, March 26). It’s Equal Pay Day. Women have lost ground for the second year in a row. https://www.npr.org/2026/03/26/nx-s1-5758090/equal-pay-day-gender-wage-gap
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2026, September 15). Income in the United States: 2025 (Report P60-289). https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p60-289.html