Tuesday is Equal Pay Day, or the day that supposedly marks when women have earned enough to make up for the last year’s wage gap. According to the American Association of University Women, “This symbolic day is used to raise awareness around and combat the impact of pay inequities.”
It is important to address the data the AAUW and other women’s groups point to for Equal Pay Day. Based on the current population survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the median earnings of full-time, year-round workers in 2023 differed between men and women. The median earnings of women were $55,240, while men’s earnings were $66,790, so the female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.83. Proponents of the wage gap use this statistic to argue that women only make 83 cents for every dollar a man makes.
