The Pay Gap Isn’t Gone - It’s Stuck
You’d think that in 2025 the gender pay gap would be history. But the reality is very different. According to TruckingDive and recent national data, efforts to close the gap - including pay-transparency laws - haven’t delivered meaningful progress. The U.S. saw a small improvement between 2018 and 2022, but since then the momentum has stalled, leaving the gap stubbornly in place.
What the Numbers Actually Show
The current picture is clear: for every dollar a man earns, women take home about 83 cents. And the gap widens with age. By age 42, women earn just 72 cents for every dollar earned by men their age.
The burden grows even heavier for mothers. Women with children earn about 75 cents to the dollar compared with men, while women of color face an even sharper divide - earning around 64 cents for every dollar earned by fathers.
Meanwhile, fatherhood has the opposite effect for men. Fathers typically earn about 2% more than men without children - a reflection of long-standing workplace biases.
Women entering the job market today are closing the gap faster than previous generations, helped by transparency laws and more open salary discussions. But for working mothers, women with limited flexibility, or those passed over for leadership roles, progress remains slow. Even additional education doesn’t guarantee equal pay. In many workplaces, the pipeline to leadership still favors men.
What It Will Take to Close the Gap
Meaningful solutions do exist - but they require consistent enforcement, not just legislation on paper. The Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and U.S. Senator Patty Murray, aims to strengthen protections for women by empowering them to challenge pay discrimination and hold employers accountable.
The Act supports pay transparency, protects employees who discuss compensation, and prevents companies from using pay history in hiring decisions - a practice that often locks women into lower earnings over time.
Equal pay also benefits employers. Companies that compensate fairly report better retention, higher morale, and stronger long-term performance. Many women leave jobs not because of the workload or culture, but because they discover they’re being paid significantly less than their male counterparts.
The gender pay gap is both structural and historical - but it doesn’t have to be permanent. In 2025, equal pay should not be aspirational. It should be the standard. Pay should reflect skills, contributions, and performance - never gender. If businesses, lawmakers, and employees push in the same direction, the gap can finally begin to close.
