We Built the Wage Gap. We Can End It.

By Rachel Ryan, Enlight Media

If companies already have the data to identify pay disparities, why does the wage gap still exist? The problem isn’t a lack of information; it’s a lack of action. 

In 2024, women in the U.S. earned an average of 83 cents for every dollar earned by men (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). But that average masks deeper inequities: a Black woman working full-time made about 66.5 cents, and a Latina woman working full-time made about 57.8 cents per dollar earned by White men (IWPR, 2024).  

While it may seem like a small gap, it adds up. In 2024, the American Association of University Women reported that a full-time working woman loses an average of $11,550 annually because of the wage gap (AAUW, 2024).  

These gaps aren’t just numbers; they represent the cost of opportunity, stability, and generational wealth denied to millions of women. 

Systemic, Yes. But Not Unchangeable. 

The wage gap didn’t happen by accident. As explored in the Women Rising series, the American workplace was built on a foundation of patriarchal norms; a system that defined men’s work as essential and women’s work as supplemental. For decades, women were paid less simply because society believed their income was secondary. 

But Systems Evolve, and This One Can Too. 

Many organizations already conduct pay audits, review job bands, and track compensation data across departments. The information exists. What’s missing is the next step: acting on it. 

For example, in professional sports, pay transparency is part of the culture. Every player’s salary, bonus, and trade value is public information. When teams make decisions, they do so with full visibility into what talent is worth. Imagine if more workplaces operated the same way. Salary data is already collected through HR systems, yet it’s rarely shared or discussed openly. Greater transparency wouldn’t just reveal inequities; it would give companies the tools to fix them. Fair pay builds trust, strengthens morale, and shows that equity isn’t just a goal; it’s a practice. 

Why Change Matters  

The gap isn’t just about income; it’s about opportunity and belonging. When women are underpaid, it tells them their contributions are worth less. When women of color are even more severely underpaid, it reinforces the very hierarchies corporate America claims to oppose.  

And That’s Where Women Rising Comes In.  

The Women Rising series helps organizations confront the cultural forces behind the wage gap, including the inherited biases that make inequity seem “normal.” It’s a reminder that history isn’t just the past; it’s the system we’re still living in. The work begins when leaders stop treating the wage gap as inevitable and start seeing it as what it is: a solvable problem. 

The question isn’t whether companies can close the gap. It’s whether they will. 

Women Rising gives them the context, and the courage, to start.