The Equal Pay Act, 50 Years Later

On April 9, 1963, the Equal Pay Act was officially passed into law.

Fifty years later, women comprise nearly half (47 percent) of the U.S. workforce, and make up 57 percent of all college students. But while the 77 percent wage full-time working women earn compared to men is an improvement over recent history, it shows that we still have a long way to go.

How equal are men and women when it comes to pay in the U.S.? PYMNTS.com takes a look at this nerdwallet breakdown in this PYMNTS Data Point.

Earnings Over Time

Women earned 64 percent of what men earned for a full-time, year-round job in 1951, with that number dropping into the high 50s in the 1960s and bottoming out at 57 percent in 1973. A steady increase saw women earn 60 percent of what men earned by 1980, 65 percent by 1985 and 72 percent by 1990, with that percentage staying in the low-to-mid 70s throughout the decade. The percentage women earned compared to men jumped to 76 percent in 2001, fluctuating between that percentage and the 77 percent we saw in 2010.

Breakdown By Profession

The most common jobs for working women are secretary, K-8 teacher and registered nurse. Female secretaries make an average of $33,852 a year, compared to $39, 364 for men. Teachers were awarded an average salary of $48,516 if they were female or $53,144 if they were men. Registered nurses made $53,768 as women and $56,212 as men.

The most equal paying jobs between the two genders all belonged to the engineering industry. Female systems engineers and mechanical engineers actually made more than their male counterparts: $72,300 to $71,500 in the first case, and $61,100 to $60,400 in the latter. Male and female electrical engineers made an identical $66,000 on a full-time, yearly basis.

States Rights: Most Equal Pay

The “state” with the highest rate of equal pay amongst men and women is Washington D.C., where women make $60,332 compared to $66,760 for men for an earnings ratio of 90 percent. Vermont comes in second at $38,177 for women and $44,057 for men: a ratio of 87 percent, while Maryland also has an 87 percent ratio at $48,748 for females and $56,708 for men.

The ratio for the entire U.S. is 77 percent, as women make an average of $37,118 and men make an average of $48,202.

To see more statistics – plus a timeline of important dates in women’s payments equality – read the entire nerdwallet infographic below.