Women still earn 78 cents to the man's dollar and women of color make even less. Equal Pay Day marks how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. This year, the Women's Bureau examined one of the factors contributing to wage inequality: gender differences across occupations. 

Women's Bureau Director Latifa Lyles introduced three longtime champions in the fight for working families to a packed house on Equal Pay Day at the department's headquarters in Washington. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut joined Secretary Perez."When women succeed, America succeeds," proclaimed Jarrett during her remarks. "We need equal pay now."

In Chicago, Deputy Secretary Chris Lu participated in a roundtable discussion with tradeswomen from Chicago Women In Trades to discuss issues women encounter gaining entry into skilled trades. We also participated in a lunchtime gathering in Daley Plaza with a crowd of over 150 people.  

In New Brunswick, NJ the Women's Bureau Deputy Director Joan Harrigan-Farrelly served as a panelist at an event that educated college students and young alumnae from Rutgers University on the existence of the wage gap. 

Roughly 30 enthusiastic Massasoit Community College students, faculty, and interested residents gathered for a Roundtable in Brockton, MA. 

In Buffalo, NY Regional Administrator Grace Protos addressed the pay gap with an audience of professional women at a power breakfast and a roundtable for local employers.

In Philadelphia, we participated in a panel with representatives from Pathways PA, the Women’s Law Project and the Coalition of Labor Union Women. The panelists discussed policy changes in Pennsylvania including paid leave, equal pay, women’s health and eliminating occupational segregation.

We held a discussion on the gender wage gap and the laws that are in place to counteract discrimination to students and staff at University of Texas at Dallas.

In Kansas City, we addressed more than 150 students at the University of Missouri, Kansas City about the significance of Equal Pay Day and the gap women still face. We also hosted a brown bag lunch at Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) that focused on salary negotiation.

In San Francisco, Regional Administrator Kelly Jenkins-Pultz joined advocates for a press conference that highlighted the city’s equal pay data collection ordinance, called for more action to eliminate the wage gap. We also engaged college students and faculty at San Francisco State University for a discussion about how increasing women’s participation in nontraditional jobs, sharing family responsibilities more evenly and targeting outright and inherent biases in employment can all help improve women’s wages. 

In Washington state, we met with the Washington State Labor and Industries Apprenticeship Council of Joint Recruitment and Resource Committee to promote more recruitment of women in apprenticeships. 

• Women account for 30 percent or less of employees in some high-wage sectors such as computer and mathematical science and architecture and engineering occupations. Women account for more than 70 percent of the workforce in low-wage sectors such as personal care and healthcare support occupations.

• Women with advanced degrees earn less than men with bachelor's degrees.

• The impact of caregiving on the individual female caregiver in terms of lost wages and Social Security benefits over her lifetime equals $274,044 ($142,693 in lost wages and $131,351 in lost Social Security benefits), as well as an estimated $50,000 in lost pension income.