Gender Equity in Wages (OECD and selected other countries): Number 38

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research through its Status of Women in the States analysis shows that the persistent pay inequality is “far-reaching: if women in the United States received equal pay with comparable men, poverty for working women would be reduced by half and the U.S. economy would have added $482 billion (equivalent to 2.8 percent of 2014 GDP) to its economy.” Further, if working women were paid at the same comparable rate as men, the poverty rate among all working women would fall from 8.2 percent to 4.0 percent.

In looking at the wage gender gap in 2022, the OECD found that the United States ranked 38th among OECD and selected other countries. The country with the least wage gap is Belgium; for men earning $100.00, women earn $98.83. The average for twenty-seven countries in the European Union is this: men earn $100.00, women earn $89.37. The United States figures are far lower: men earn $100.00 and women earn $83.14.

Sources: “The Economic Impact of Equal Pay by State,” Status of Women in the States, http://statusofwomendata.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SWS-Equal-Pay-and-Poverty_final.pdf; “Gender Wage Gap,” OECD, https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm. The OECD defines the gender gap as “The difference between median earnings of men and women relative to median earnings of men.”