Equal Pay Act Promise Still Not ‘Fully Realized’ 60 Years Later

Six decades after the enactment of a landmark federal antidiscrimination bill, questions linger about how well the statute has fulfilled its original promise of equal pay for equal work.

Despite the Equal Pay Act’s long history, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2022 that women earned only a median of 83 cents for every dollar a man made, with the gap even wider for women of color.

Data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces the law, show thatthe total number of EPA-related charges filed with the agency has remained relatively consistent since the 1990s, indicating ...