Census data: No progress made on overall gender gap

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As 2020 continues to be a challenging year, new data released recently by the U.S. Census Bureau shows no progress has been made in closing the overall gender wage gap.

The average full-time working woman still earns just 82 cents for every dollar earned by men.

When broken down by race, the numbers spell out a slightly more reassuring picture. According to an analysis from the National Women’s Law Center, Native American women and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women in 2019 saw their pay gaps close slightly from 57 cents and 61 cents in 2018, to 60 cents and 63 cents, respectively.

For Black women and Latinas, NWLC reports the pay gap closed by just one penny, moving from 62 cents and 54 cents in 2018, to 63 cents and 55 cents, respectively, in 2019.

While the pay gap for white women remained unchanged at 79 cents for every dollar earned by white men, the pay gap for Asian women widened from 90 cents to 87 cents.

The report also sheds light on how much money women could be losing while working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 1 in 3 Black women are on the front lines, yet they are robbed of thousands of dollars each year due to the wage gap.

When looking at the breakdown of pay, Black women are at risk of losing $941,600 in wages over a 40-year career due to the pay gap, while Native American women and Latinas are at risk of losing over $1 million, according to NWLC data.

Women overall stand to lose more than $400,000 over a 40-year career, data shows.