The Equal Pay Act, signed in 1963, prohibits sex-based discrimination in the workplace in regards to wages. Almost 50 years later, Caucasian women are still only making about 78 cents to every dollar of male counterparts. The wage gap is even worse for women of color.
Individuals such as Lilly Ledbetter have fought for the right to equal compensation, even though the wage gap will not close in their lifetime.
A report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) projects that “ the disparity between women’s and men’s earnings in the United States overall will not close until the year 2058.”
Since 1980, women’s wages have grown, while men’s have decreased. However, According to the Washington Post, “Progress toward wage equality has sputtered almost to a halt. Median earnings for women have remained largely consistent. Women also remain underrepresented in the highest-paying fields: engineering, technology and medicine. Across industries, they hold far fewer upper-management positions.”
A report from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) illustrates the current racial and wage gap between women as of 2014.