GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

qual Pay Day highlights the ongoing wage gap between men and women in the U.S., emphasizing financial inequality in the workforce. This symbolic date marks how many extra days the median woman must work into the new year to match the median man's earnings from the prior year. Established in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity, Equal Pay Day raises awareness about wage disparities between genders. In 2025, Equal Pay Day fell on March 25.

Equal Pay Day is the date in the year that symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. Equal Pay Day was originated by the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages. This year, Equal Pay Day in the United States was on March 12, 2024, two days earlier than last year.

While great strides have been made in the advancement of women, challenges remain. A 2023 Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey and LeanIn shows that representation of women has increased at the C-suite and senior executive levels from 17 to 28% since 2015. Unfortunately, however, progress is lagging at the manager and director levels. Without increased representation of women at lower levels of leadership, the pipeline will not support continued growth at the top.

Globally, the pandemic has fueled increased economic insecurity for women and girls, and in far too many places—including, far too often, here in America—their fundamental rights remain at risk. Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a statement affirming their contribution to the White House’s National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. The strategy identified ten priorities.