It’s 2025, and American women are still being paid less than they deserve. The wage gap between men and women has hovered around the same figure — 82 cents to the dollar — for more than two decades. And if you’re a woman of color, that number drops even lower.
This isn’t a rounding error. It’s a national disgrace.
We’ve had civil rights laws, gender equality task forces, social media movements, and more women earning college degrees than men. But somehow, we still haven’t cracked the code on equal pay. And the problem isn’t just that we’re underpaid, it’s that the institutions built to fix this disparity aren’t doing their jobs.
There are many factors that contribute to the wage gap — discrimination, occupational segregation, and lack of women in leadership all play a role. But one reason towers above the rest: motherhood.
A widely cited Harvard study found that the single biggest driver of the gender pay gap is not just outright bias or women choosing lower paying jobs. It’s the fact that women take time away from work after having children — and we never fully recover.
The study, “Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors” tracked men and women in the same jobs with equal education and credentials. Their earnings were almost identical until the birth of a child. Then, women’s income stagnated, while men’s continued to rise.
That’s not a reflection of individual choices. That’s a systemic failure.
When women leave the workforce, even temporarily, they lose out on raises, promotions, retirement contributions, and compound earnings. And when they return, they’re often seen as “less committed,” even while managing more responsibilities at home and at work.
On average, women perform more than double the unpaid household and caregiving labor compared to men. And let’s be honest: Men are often celebrated for “babysitting” their own children, while women are penalized in the workplace for doing what society expects of them — childrearing.
So, what’s been done? The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 made it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination by resetting the statute of limitations with each paycheck. But not much else has worked.
There have been some legislative efforts to fight this: The Paycheck Fairness Act, which would close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and ban retaliation against workers who discuss pay, has been introduced in nearly every Congress for the past 20 years. But it still hasn’t passed.
And voluntary pay equity audits? Hit or miss. Without legal mandates, most companies skip them or bury the findings.
To its credit, the Biden administration established a Gender Policy Council in 2021 to coordinate efforts across federal agencies to advance gender equity, but actions haven’t kept pace with promises. The administration didn’t require companies to publicly report gender pay gaps, despite calls from advocacy groups and data analysts. Nor did it revive Obama-era rules that required detailed wage reporting to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That tool could be one of the most powerful levers we have to uncover and correct pay disparities.
There’s also been little movement on federal paid leave or childcare support, both critical issues for working mothers trying to stay in the workforce.
This isn’t a new problem. In fact, the Trump administration actively reversed progress. In 2017, it rolled back an Obama-era EEOC rule that would have required large companies to submit wage data by race, gender, and job category, arguing that it was too burdensome for employers. That regulation was designed to shine a light on systemic disparities. Instead, it was shut off before it could start working.
Trump also disbanded the White House Council on Women and Girls, created during the Obama administration to address issues affecting women, including pay equity. And there was no meaningful advancement of transparency or leave policies during his four years in office.
Now in Trump’s second term, his administration eliminated federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs through an executive order — programs from which white women, the largest group of female beneficiaries, had significantly benefited.
If we’re serious about closing the wage gap, we need more than symbolic gestures. We need real action, starting with:
- National Paid Family Leave
The U.S. remains one of the few developed countries without guaranteed paid maternity leave. That silence is costing women thousands annually. - Mandatory Pay Reporting
If companies must disclose wage data by gender, they’ll have a real incentive to address gaps. - Stronger Legal Enforcement
Laws exist on paper — but many are ignored in practice. Federal enforcement agencies need real funding and political backing. - Affordable Childcare
When childcare costs equal rent, women are forced out of the workforce. This is an economic crisis, not just a parenting one.
We know the data. We know the solutions. What we lack, still, is political courage to prioritize half the population. Until our leaders treat gender pay equity as an economic imperative rather than a campaign talking point, women will continue to pay the price for inaction. We’re not asking for favors. We’re demanding what’s long overdue: accountability, transparency, and the full value of our labor. We don’t need another task force — we need a turning point.
Pattie Ehsaei is a Director of Mergers & Acquisitions financing at a major lending institution. She has led many teams in the financial services industry, ranging from commercial banking to investment banking, where she was managing partner and head of business development at GRID Partners. She regularly provide commentary on personal finance topics to a variety of media outlets, including Good Morning America, Huffington Post, Yahoo, BBC, and on her TikTok channel, @DuchessOfDecorum; she holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado in Boulder, and a J.D. from Loyola Law School in Chicago.
