The gender pay gap still affects how much women earn compared to men across the world. Many reports show that women earn less even when they work in similar roles. The gap changes based on country, age, job type, and career level.
In recent years, some progress has been made, but the gap has not closed fully. In some cases, the gap even grows as women move ahead in their careers. This makes it important to understand the real numbers behind it.
In this guide, you will find clear and updated gender pay gap statistics. These stats will help you understand where the gap exists and how it changes across different factors.
We compiled these statistics from our online research through sources such as the World Bank, World Economic Forum, Bureau of Labour Statistics, and industry reports. All the links are attached below for better reference.
Key Gender Pay Gap Statistics 2026
- Women earn about 83 cents for every dollar globally, which shows the gap still exists across most countries
- It may take 134 years to reach full gender pay parity, which shows very slow progress
- Women earn about $14,300 less per year, which highlights direct income loss
- Over a full career, women lose around $1 million in earnings, which shows long term impact
- Women aged 45 and above earn only $0.71 per dollar, which shows the gap grows with age
- In finance, women earn as low as $0.79 per dollar, which shows one of the widest industry gaps
- The United Arab Emirates ranks 1st in the Arab region for gender equality progress, showing strong regional leadership
- The UAE also ranks 13th globally in the Gender Inequality Index, which reflects strong performance across key equality indicators
Global Gender Pay Gap Statistics
The global gender pay gap gives a broad view of how earnings differ between men and women worldwide. It combines data from many countries and industries to show the overall situation. This helps you understand the scale of the gap before looking at deeper breakdowns.
- Women earn about 83 cents for every dollar earned by men globally, which means there is still a noticeable gap in average pay across most countries
- According to global estimates of World Bank, women earn around 77 cents per dollar compared to men, which highlights a wider gap when more countries and job types are included
- At the current pace, it will take about 134 years to achieve full gender pay parity, which shows that progress is slow and long-term efforts are still needed
Gender Pay Gap by Country
The gender pay gap changes from one country to another. Some countries have reduced the gap, while others still show large differences in pay. Looking at country-level data helps you understand where progress is faster and where gaps still remain.
- In the United States, women earn about 85% of what men earn, which shows some improvement but still leaves a clear gap in overall earnings
- In Australia, women earn around 83% of men’s pay, which reflects a steady but slow improvement over time
- In India, the gender pay gap was estimated at 24.81%, which highlights a significant difference in earnings between men and women
- Across the European Union, the gender pay gap ranges from less than 5% to more than 17%, which shows wide variation between different countries
- Luxembourg reports a negative gender pay gap of -0.7%, where women earn slightly more than men on average
- The UAE also ranks 13th globally in the Gender Inequality Index, which shows strong overall progress in reducing gender inequality across multiple areas
- The United Arab Emirates ranks 1st among Arab countries in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025, and also ranks among the top countries globally on key indicators like education access and representation
Gender Pay Gap Over Time
The gender pay gap has changed over the years. Many countries have reduced the gap, but the speed of change has slowed in recent decades. Looking at past data helps you see how much progress has happened and where it has stalled.
- In 1980, women earned about 64% of what men earned, which shows a wide gap in pay during that period
- By 1990, women’s earnings increased to 72% of men’s pay, showing steady improvement over the decade
- In 2000, women earned around 76% of men’s wages, which reflects continued progress but at a slower pace
- By 2012, the gender pay gap reduced to 23%, down from 40% in 1960, showing long term improvement over several decades
- In 2024, women earned about 85% of what men earned, which shows that progress continues but the gap still exists
Gender Pay Gap by Age and Career Stage
The gender pay gap does not stay the same across all age groups. It often starts smaller early in a career and grows over time. As women move into mid and senior roles, the gap becomes wider.
- Women aged 20 to 29 earn about $0.86 for every dollar earned by men, which shows a smaller gap at the start of a career
- Women aged 30 to 44 earn around $0.80 per dollar compared to men, which shows the gap increases during mid career years
- Women aged 45 and older earn about $0.71 for every dollar earned by men, which shows a much wider gap at later career stages
- Women in executive roles earn around $0.69 per dollar compared to men, which highlights a large gap at top leadership levels
- The pay gap grows from about 12% at the start of a career to 25% after 30 years, which shows how the difference increases over time
Controlled vs Uncontrolled Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap can be measured in two ways. Controlled data compares men and women in the same role with similar experience. Uncontrolled data looks at overall earnings across all jobs. This helps you see both equal pay issues and real world earning differences.
- The controlled gender pay gap is about $0.99 for every dollar, which means women and men earn almost equal pay when they have the same role and qualifications
- The uncontrolled gender pay gap is around $0.82 per dollar, which shows a wider gap when you look at overall earnings across different roles and industries
- Women earn about $14,300 less per year in median salary compared to men, which shows the real income impact of the pay gap
Career and Lifetime Earnings Impact
The gender pay gap affects total earnings over time. Small differences each year add up to large losses across a full career. This impact becomes more visible when you look at long-term income.
- Women lose about $1 million over a 40 year career compared to men, which shows how yearly pay gaps add up over time
- Lifetime earnings loss varies by group:
- White women lose around $1.17 million over their careers, which shows a significant long term gap
- Hispanic women lose about $1.39 million, which reflects a larger earnings difference
- Black women lose around $1.42 million, which shows a deeper gap compared to other groups
- American Indian and Alaska Native women lose about $1.7 million, which highlights the highest loss among these groups
Parenthood and Gender Pay Gap
Family roles can affect how much women earn over time. The gap often changes based on whether women have children. This shows how personal and social factors can influence income.
- Mothers earn about $0.74 for every dollar earned by men, which shows a wider pay gap after having children
- Women without children earn around $0.90 per dollar compared to men, which shows a smaller gap when caregiving responsibilities are not involved
Gender Pay Gap by Industry (Controlled)
The gender pay gap also changes across industries. When you compare men and women in similar roles within the same industry, the gap becomes smaller but still exists. This helps you understand how pay differs even when job roles are similar.
- Women make up about 53% of the workforce in accommodation and food services, and they earn around $0.95 per dollar, which shows that a pay gap still exists even with high representation
- In retail and customer service, women earn close to men at $0.96 per dollar, which reflects a slightly narrower gap in similar roles
- $0.96 per dollar is what women earn in transportation and warehousing, where they represent only 25% of the workforce, which links lower representation to wider pay differences
- In nonprofit organizations, women account for about 69% of employees and earn around $0.97 per dollar, which shows one of the narrowest gaps but not full equality
Gender Pay Gap by Industry (Uncontrolled)
The gap looks wider when you compare overall earnings across roles and levels. This view includes differences in job types, seniority, and access to higher-paying roles. It gives a real-world picture of how income differs across industries.
- Finance and insurance have one of the widest gaps, where women earn only $0.79 for every dollar, which shows a big difference in pay
- $0.83 per dollar is what women earn in transportation, which shows a noticeable drop in overall earnings across roles
- In manufacturing, women earn around $0.87 compared to men, which shows the gap remains, even though it is slightly narrower than in some sectors
- $0.88 per dollar is what women earn in retail, which points to a moderate gap across different job levels
Gender Pay Gap by Occupation
The gender pay gap also varies across job roles. Some occupations show smaller gaps, while others still have large differences. The gap often depends on how many women work in that field and the level of pay in those roles.
- In some occupations, the gap has fully closed or even reversed, with women earning up to $1.04 for every dollar, which shows equal or slightly higher pay in a few roles
- $0.59 per dollar is what women earn in legal roles in some cases, which shows one of the lowest pay ratios among occupations
- In healthcare support roles, women make up 85% of the workforce, yet pay gaps still exist, which shows that representation alone does not ensure equal pay
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Close the Gender Pay Gap with Smarter HR and Payroll Using Yomly
The gender pay gap still exists across countries, industries, and career levels. Some regions, like the UAE, have made strong progress, but gaps still remain in real-world earnings and career growth.
For businesses, this creates a clear need to track pay, ensure fairness, and stay compliant with local labour laws. Without the right systems, it becomes hard to manage payroll accurately, maintain transparency, and identify hidden pay gaps.
This is where platforms like Yomly help enterprises take control of their workforce operations. Yomly is built for mid to large enterprises with 250+ employees, helping teams manage HR and payroll at scale with better control and accuracy.
With the right tools in place, businesses can reduce errors, improve transparency, and make more consistent pay decisions:
- Wage Protection System compliance ensures salaries meet UAE labour rules and follow standardized payroll processes
- Multi-country payroll helps companies manage teams across regions with consistent pay structures
- Automated payroll calculations reduce manual errors and ensure accurate salary processing every cycle
- Expense management allows teams to track and approve employee expenses in a structured way, improving overall compensation visibility
- Managed payroll services help businesses handle complex payroll operations with expert support and fewer compliance risks
With added support for reporting, employee data management, and approval workflows, Yomly helps HR teams track salary structures, identify gaps, and build more transparent processes.
If your business wants to simplify HR operations, improve pay transparency, and manage payroll with better control, you can explore Yomly and book a demo to see how it fits your needs.
Data sources
- https://www.payscale.com/press-releases/2026-gpgr
- https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/reports/2026/mind-gender-gap-edition-3
- https://www.payscale.com/featured-content/gender-pay-gap
- https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/equal-pay/gender-pay-gap-situation-eu_en
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1203135/gender-pay-gap-in-europe-by-country/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1203158/gender-pay-gap-in-europe/
- https://unric.org/en/gender-equality-smaller-pay-gaps-in-belgium-italy-and-luxembourg/
- https://www.weforum.org/videos/global-gender-gap-report-suite/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_pay_gap
- https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2026/03/08/in-2025-french-female-executives-still-earn-16-less-than-men_6751225_19.html
- https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2025.pdf
- https://apnews.com/article/cee468c29b539c8c871809cb726b65bd
- https://www.wam.ae/en/article/blahsbs-uae-serves-model-advancing-women%E2%80%99s-leadership
- https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2024/
- https://ceoworld.biz/2024/01/26/gender-pay-gap-statistics-explained/index.php/Gender_pay_gap_statistics
- https://unric.org/en/global-gender-gap-report-2024-it-will-take-134-years-to-reach-gender-parity/
- https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/12/14/gender-pay-gap-in-europe-how-do-countries-compare-on-narrowing-the-divide
- https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/
- https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2024/01/06/egalite-femmes-hommes-les-lecons-des-pays-les-plus-avances_6378755_1669637.html
- https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2024/09/02/why-womens-working-hours-in-germany-are-still-hindering-the-country-s-growth_6724409_19.html
