Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s, 1979-2007
October 29, 2008
Between 1979 and 2007, the earnings gap between women and men narrowed for most age groups.
[Chart data—TXT]
The women's-to-men's earnings ratio among 35- to 44-year-olds, for example, rose from 58 percent in 1979 to 77 percent in 2007, and the ratio for 45- to 54-year-olds increased from 57 percent to 75 percent.
The earnings ratio for teenagers and for workers aged 65 and older fluctuated from 1979 to 2007, but their long-term trend has been essentially flat.
These data on earnings are from the Current Population Survey. Earnings data in this article are median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers. For more information see "Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2007," BLS Report 1008 (PDF 582K).
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United States Department of Labor
