Why It Matters
The wage disparity between male and female workers affects household income, retirement security, and economic opportunity for millions of American families. Wisconsin, like other states, faces decisions on whether to adopt pay transparency requirements and workforce policies aimed at narrowing the gap.
What Happened
Women earned 18.6% less per hour than men on average in 2025, according to a Thursday analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. The gap widened marginally from the previous year, when women earned 18% less. The institute examined federal datasets controlling for race, ethnicity, education, age, marital status, and geographic location.
Equal Pay Day, observed March 26, marks the point in 2026 when women would have worked enough additional hours to match men’s 2025 earnings.
By the Numbers
Black women earned only 68.3% of white men’s median hourly wages, a gap of $9.87 per hour. For full-time workers, that translates to roughly $20,500 lower annual earnings. The wage gap was smallest among lower-wage workers, in part because minimum wage laws establish a uniform pay floor. Women with graduate degrees earned less on average than men with only a bachelor’s degree.
The Debate
The Economic Policy Institute attributes the gap to occupational differences, societal expectations, and the devaluation of work performed primarily by women. The organization recommends state-level pay transparency laws, employer-funded paid family leave, higher minimum wages, universal child care funding, and reduced barriers to union membership.
Conservative lawmakers and private employers argue such mandates would force businesses to reduce staffing or raise consumer prices. The institute acknowledges federal action on pay equity has stalled but says state legislatures can act independently.
What’s Next
State lawmakers nationwide face pending bills on pay transparency, minimum wage increases, and family leave requirements. The institute urges states to move forward even as federal policy remains unchanged.