The Gender Wage Gap in the New Millennium: An Analysis of the United States 2000-2020

Abstract

This study examines the earnings differential in each year from 2000-2020 to determine if the gender pay gap has changed in recent years. We estimate average weekly wages for full-time, year-round workers for men and women to determine women’s wages relative to men’s wages for each year. Our results show that although average earnings for women relative to men have increased since 2000 when adjusting for individual worker characteristics, we find little progress in shrinking the gender wage gap. This result is even more discouraging since women’s education rates have increased at a significantly higher rate during this time.