Gender pay gap doubles over the course of women’s careers: Glassdoor report
Progress towards closing the gender pay gap has been slow and inconsistent. In 2024, the wage gap actually widened for the second year in a row: Women earned just 81 cents for every $1 paid to a man; that figure was 83 cents in 2023 and 84 cents in 2022.
Showing new data Gender pay gap more than doubles over a woman’s career, according to a glass door report It was published on Tuesday.
The report found that women’s earnings stop in their mid-30s, while men’s earnings continue to rise into their 40s.
Here’s why the pay gap continues to widen for women later in their careers and what employers can do to support women in the workplace.
How does the gap widen over time?
Glassdoor used its repository of salary data to calculate both the total pay gap between men and women over a 30-year career span and the “in-role” gap, where women are paid less than their male counterparts in similar positions. The report did not break down the results by race or ethnicity; the wage gap is often even wider black women and Latinos.
According to the report, the overall gender pay gap between men and women in the first 10 years of their careers increases from 12 percent to 19 percent, and the within-role gap increases from 0 percent to 4 percent.
Chris Martin, Glassdoor’s senior economist, attributes the top 12 percent difference to “cross-role” differences: Men and women “choose different jobs at different companies in different places,” which affects starting wages, he says.
Female dominated sectors I tend to be lower paid. than male-dominated ones. And research has shown In that case women entering professions Wages are falling in large numbers of these jobs.
Martin says the overall pay gap widens significantly in the second stage of women’s careers, between 10 and 30 years of experience, but the gap between roles remains steady at 5%.
According to the report, women’s wage growth remains steady at age 35, while men’s earnings continue to rise through their 40s. As a result, after 30 years of work experience, men earn 25% more than women.
Why does women’s salary remain at 35?
Martin says there are several reasons for this growing wage gap. Someone Motherhood penalty: Women are often expected to take on a disproportionate share of childcare responsibilities, which can limit “the amount of time and energy they can devote to their careers,” according to Martin.
But even women who don’t have children experience a decline in earnings in their mid-30s, and when they reach their 50s, these women still earn significantly less than men, Martin says.
According to Martin, during this mid-career period, men are more likely to be promoted to better-paying jobs, while women have a lower rate of advancement. Because of gender biases, “there’s a limit to how high women can go” in many organizations before hitting the “glass ceiling,” she says.
Jasmine Tucker, vice president of research at the National Women’s Law Center, says women in general are not promoted into supervisory roles at the same rate as men. According to a 2025 report by Lean In and McKinsey & Company, only 93 women were promoted to executive positions for every 100 men last year. Women in the Workplace report.
The report found that women are underrepresented at all levels, especially at the top. For example, women held 29% of senior roles. And only 11% of companies on the 2025 Fortune 500 list Led by female CEOsat a record level.
A 2022 study found that women were still perceived as successful despite receiving higher performance scores than their male peers. less potential for advancement.
Men continue to hold the majority executive level positions“When you’re promoting and hiring, you tend to hire people who are like you,” says Tucker.
How can companies address the wage gap?
Martin says the first step any organization can take to reduce the gender pay gap is to “conduct proactive pay equity analyses.” In other words, they need to “identify and address” situations where women are paid less than their male peers.
Managers and leaders should also analyze “whether men and women or different groups are advancing at the same rates within the organization,” he says.
What’s more, Martin says companies should provide additional support to employees with caring responsibilities: flexible work options. Without adequate support you will “see” [caregivers] “They make less progress at work and are less successful because they have needs that are not being met or met by the organization,” he says.
Tucker says more can be done through state and federal policies. To tackle issues like the motherhood penalty, Tucker emphasizes that systemic solutions like universal child care and implementation of paid family leave are key to leveling the playing field for women.
Currently, “we’re not creating systems where women can thrive in the workplace,” she says.
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