What Is the Gender Pay Gap?

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated Sep 14, 2025 at 10:57 PM EST

Key Points

Women earn 83 cents for every dollar men make, with gaps widening in higher age and education levels.
Equal Pay Day marks how far into the new year women work to match men's previous year earnings.
Career gaps and societal roles contribute significantly to the persistent gender pay gap.

If you’ve ever heard about the gender pay gap, or wondered what Equal Pay Day is, there's a whole lot of labor history to consider. We'll try to keep it short and to the point, and focus our efforts on the gender pay gap in the United States (though it is present elsewhere) in this article.

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About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

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Kristi Waterworth has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Home Depot. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.