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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 means it’s illegal for an employer to discriminate against you due to your sex, race, color, or religion. To augment those protections, in 2020, the Supreme Court enshrined laws against discrimination regarding gender identity and sexual orientation. Yet, despite its illegality, U.S. working women are still subject to various forms of discrimination in the workplace.
This study considers multiple levels of workplace discrimination, particularly how women are continually marginalized in their roles. We’ll look at key data around wage disparities, other examples of work discrimination, including harassment, and how workplace discrimination markedly limits women of color.
Let’s first focus on one of the main, basic workplace inequalities: that of pay discrimination.
Discrimination In Its Many Forms
The Gender Pay Gap
Although they make up 56.9% of the U.S. labor force (as of August 2025), and despite legal protections, women still suffer wide-scale workplace discrimination. In a study featuring 1,000 canvassed women, 500 suggested they were ‘unsure’ whether or not they were paid the same amount as their male counterparts. Generally speaking, the reality is that women are paid significantly less than men.
Enduring Gender Pay Gaps
The uncontrolled gender pay gap compares female to male pay across the entire workforce, without any adjustments for job type or qualifications. According to Payscale’s 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report, women earn 83 cents for every male dollar earned, a 17% differential that matches 2024 figures.
The controlled gender pay gap considers men and women in similar roles with equivalent qualifications. When job-related factors are matched in this way, the gap narrows to 99 cents on the dollar. While less marked a differential, this still confirms unequal pay for similar work (these figures are also unchanged from 2024).
Both measures are significant. The controlled pay gap illustrates levels of fairness within specific roles; whereas the uncontrolled gap reveals broader inequalities regarding opportunity, advancement, and how women’s work is valued across the labor market.
However, the figures in question aren’t applicable to women of color, as their numbers are further diminished when it comes to the uncontrolled gender pay gap. The following table tells us what women of different racial groups earn compared to the baseline $1 earned by a White male with a Bachelor’s Degree.
When we closely consider the uncontrolled gender pay gap from a racial perspective, we can clearly see how women experience inequality in fundamentally different ways across the labor market.
Native American women face the widest gap of all, earning just 75 cents for every dollar earned by White men, closely followed by Hispanic women (78 cents) and Black women (79 cents). All rates of earnings are well below the national average.
White women earn 82 cents on the White male dollar (a significant shortfall), while Pacific Islander women fare slightly better at 88 cents. Asian women do significantly better when it comes to the uncontrolled gap (95 cents), yet still fall short of full parity.
This breakdown clearly illustrates the fact that gender pay inequality, far from being a uniform experience, is deeply influenced by race, with women of color facing some of the most persistent, entrenched U.S. wage barriers. And when key initiatives introduced to push back against work equity are removed, parity looks even more distant.
The Gradual Removal of DEI Protections
In recent months, many organizations have shifted away from formal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a trend highlighted in a 2025 report by Catalyst and the Metzler Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, which finds that mounting external pressures are driving companies to retreat from DEI commitments.
Research shows that companies with robust DEI and gender equity commitments more often employ women in leadership roles. As more companies have adopted such a position, women have reaped the benefit. For instance, the 2024 report by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org found that women held 29% of C-suite positions in 2024 – up from 17% in 2015, a number largely due to DEI commitments.
Yet, progress has generally been modest and uneven. And now, with a diminishing number of DEI guidelines, targets, accountability mechanisms, and formal support systems (such as mentorship or sponsorship), women face limited opportunities for advancement and increased vulnerability to bias.
These shifts also influence career planning, with approximately 50% of women suggesting that the current climate has increased their caution regarding major career moves. Many prioritize job stability over advancement, seeking employers with strong DEI commitments, or delaying a job change altogether.
Meanwhile, a separate study from HiBob reveals that only one in three women currently feel fully supported to do their best work. Mentorship remains scarce, with fewer than 10% of women saying they have access to a formal workplace mentor.
In a national study, more than 400 women were queried about the impact of these changes. 79% reported that the retreat from DEI efforts, both in private companies and within federal policy, will harm women’s long-term career prospects.
When asked which areas would be affected most, women singled out three key concerns. Pay equity and salary transparency (89%), protections against bias or harassment (84%), and leadership pathways (83%) were all cited as the key areas of concern.
Bias and Harassment
Women frequently encounter subtle language biases and microaggressions during both the hiring process and while at work. Such behaviors contribute to slower advancement, dent confidence, and increase the risk of a woman leaving a role.
The Muse’s 2024 survey found that 42% of canvassed women had been subject to gender-biased or inappropriate questions during job interviews.
A further review of gender bias in hiring across 27 studies concluded that women in traditionally male-dominated roles often receive lower competence ratings than equally qualified men unless there are special interventions in place.
And much of workplace bias is either subtle or deployed in a way that makes it seem innocuous. The use of language is often a key means of undermining a member of staff, with prejudice often masquerading as something less problematic. Here are some examples, plus what they indicate.
Examples of Discriminatory Workplace Language
“You’re very assertive. Do you think your team will appreciate that?” → This conveys a mistrust in women as strong leaders – with male leaders praised for their strength and assertion.
“Are you comfortable leading a predominantly male team?” → This suggests a woman can’t manage men or be accepted within a male-dominated environment.
“Would you mind staying late when needed?” → While this can be framed as a sign of commitment, such a phrase can easily discourage women who anticipate work-life conflicts; it also amplifies bias regarding perceived availability.
“How do you handle stress/multitasking?” → This question is often put to women during candidate screening; it’s a question rarely put to men under the same circumstances, and it subtly reinforces the idea that women will naturally manage more non-work duties than men.
These examples align with research from InHerSight on coded language, a set of subtle phrases and questions hiring managers often use to reinforce gendered expectations and undermine women’s credibility as leaders.
Less concrete examples include women being frequently interrupted and talked over during meetings, having their ideas dismissed or credited to others, and being described as ‘emotional,’ ‘too direct,’ or ‘intense.’
These patterns are often endemic in the workplace. Their cumulative effect gradually evolves into what researchers call the ‘tightrope phenomenon.’ This means women feel they must strike a precarious balance between being seen as too passive or too aggressive, with men judged against a different standard.
Men are also often the issue when we consider the matter of unwanted advances in the workplace, with the vast majority of sexual harassment charges filed by women against men.
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
In fact, 78% of all sexual harassment claims filed with the EEOC are from women. To compound matters, more than 70% of workplace sexual harassment incidents lead to some form of retaliation, making it one of the most dangerous and underreported workplace violations.
Younger staff members are disproportionately affected, with those most likely to experience workplace harassment aged between 18 and 34 (followed by workers aged 35 to 44). This shows that many women first encounter hostile behaviors very early in their working life, an experience that may negatively influence their long-term career path.
Pregnancy Discrimination
Pregnancy discrimination remains one of the main documented forms of workplace bias. Despite protections under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), women continue to face unequal treatment when they disclose a pregnancy or request subsequent medical accommodations.
The EEOC logged 2,729 formal pregnancy discrimination complaints, with data suggesting countless other examples go unreported.
82% of first-time pregnant workers continue working until at least the month prior to their due date, with nearly three-quarters (73%) back at work within six months of giving birth.
Unlike every other developed nation, the United States lacks a national paid maternity or parental leave program. This leaves many pregnant workers without guaranteed income, benefits, or job protection during one of the most vulnerable periods of their lives.
Study data suggests that women in physically demanding jobs are three times more likely to lose work after notifying their employer of their pregnancy, while 61% of women believe that motherhood will harm their career trajectory.
This is despite the fact that, after childbirth, men’s careers typically continue on an upward trajectory. Conversely, mothers often find that they have to take lower-paying positions than those they held before pregnancy. And within existing workplaces, mothers’ earnings declined by 17% the year they gave birth, compared to their colleagues.
Pregnancy and childbirth compound already difficult working circumstances for women. When we look at the occupations that feature the widest gender pay gaps, we can see stark proof of significant economic inequality.
Occupations With The Highest Pay Gaps
The comparative figures reveal some striking gender pay disparities across a variety of occupations, many of which require advanced training, technical skill, or professional certification.
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians lead the disparity list, with women earning just 64.5% of men’s median wages. That’s an annual difference of nearly $29,000, despite women performing the same highly specialized diagnostic work.
Chiropractors’ wage disparity is also severe, with women earning 68.9% of men’s pay, a figure underscoring the fact that even independent clinical practitioners face notable wage gaps.
Dental hygienists (a field dominated by females) are not all remunerated equally: women earn only 69.3% of male median wages, suggesting a biased wage structure, even in a profession in which women make up the largest share of workers. Female dentists earn just 75.5% of men’s median pay, which translates to around $50,000 per year, one of the largest gaps in the dataset.
Customer-facing roles are subject to similar levels of disparity: female counter and rental clerks draw roughly 70% of male earnings, while for women working in door-to-door sales, the figure is 70.9%.
Women chemical processors earn 73.7% of men’s pay, and female diagnostic medical sonographers suffer the exact same shortfall, despite the role’s technical and educational demands. So even for roles that feature highly specialized skills, there’s still a huge gender wage gap.
Women in data-heavy and IT-related roles are also subject to wide gaps. Female database administrators and architects earn only 75.3% of men’s median earnings.
Collectively, the data shows us that gender-based wage disparities are not isolated to a particular industry, pay scale, or skill level. Instead, they’re prevalent across all sectors and pay grades, with pay equity in any role scarce.
Specific roles aside, let’s consider which U.S. states are subject to the biggest male/female wage disparities.
States With The Highest Pay Gaps
State data on gender wage variations presents some stark disparities significantly beyond sizable national averages. The results reveal how deeply rooted pay inequity remains across a range of regions and economic landscapes.
Utah emerges as the most unequal state, with women earning just 63.8% of men’s median wages, an annual average difference of over $40,000 (despite the state’s relatively high male earnings).
New Hampshire (66%) and South Carolina (66.1%) are also subject to huge gender wage disparities, illustrating that both high-income New England states and lower-wage Southern states experience similarly severe gender pay gaps.
In Virginia and Texas (where men’s median income well exceeds $100,000), women take home just 66–67% of male figures, demonstrating that wage inequality persists even in prosperous, economically diverse states with rapidly growing job markets.
And Arkansas, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana women earn between 67% and 69% of men’s wages, signaling that lower-income states are also subject to significant inequities.
Overall, it’s clear that the gender wage gap is influenced by more than just resident industry or educational factors in each state. The consistent level of male/female wage disparity across all states confirms broad systemic factors: occupational segregation, unequal access to advancement opportunities, and persistent differences in how women’s labor is valued across all sectors. That said, a high concentration of Southern and Mountain West states on the widest wage gap list certainly hints at some influential regional cultural and policy dynamics. These may include childcare factors, labor protections, and other uniquely enduring historical work norms that help perpetuate inequality.
Ultimately, for the gender pay gap to narrow and eventually vanish, it’s clear that state-level policy commitments, better employer transparency, and stronger wage equity enforcements are necessary.
And, beyond the financial impact of workplace discrimination against women, it can also seriously damage their health.
The Health Impact of Workplace Discrimination
Research shows that exposure to gender discrimination triggers physiological stress responses in women, with elevated blood pressure and a high risk of heart disease linked to repeated experiences of bias, micro-aggressions, and hostile work environments.
For example, key data clearly indicates that women working in male-dominated occupations exhibited comparatively ‘less healthy’ cortisol patterns (compared to women in more gender-balanced roles), which is a biomarker for chronic stress.
To compound the problem, women who face discrimination are more likely to suffer interrupted careers, stagnating wages, fewer opportunities for advancement, and thus lower lifetime earnings, which means limited access to good healthcare.
It also means less opportunity to administer self-care and prevention, and increased vulnerability during life transitions like pregnancy or menopause. In turn, this increases the risk of chronic disease and diminished quality of life.
In March 2025, the U.S. Department of Education proposed new federal loan caps that limit graduate students to $100,000 in lifetime borrowing, and which reserve a $200,000 cap for an exclusive set of professional programs.
Because women already carry higher student-loan balances, earn less, and rely more heavily on advanced degrees for career mobility, these caps will disproportionately restrict their access to graduate and professional programs, especially expensive fields like law and medicine. With Grad PLUS loans ending in 2026 and caps set far below the actual cost of many degrees, women will be pushed toward private loans subject to higher interest rates and fewer protections. This not only increases long-term financial risk but also threatens to widen existing gender and racial wealth gaps, limiting women’s opportunities in high-earning and senior professions.
Gender Inequality: A Deep-Seated, Enduring Imbalance
Overall, our findings show that in the workplace remains a pervasive and deeply structural issue, one that cannot be explained away by individual choices, qualifications, or industry differences.
Despite federal protections through the Civil Rights Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and now the expanded protections affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2020, women continue to face discrimination through every stage of their careers. And, since women represent 56.9% of the labor force, these disparities are not only unjust, they’re economically unsustainable.
The uncontrolled pay gap, still stalled at 83 cents on the dollar, and the far wider racial gaps reveal how historical biases continue to shape women’s earnings, opportunities, and long-term financial security.
Even in controlled comparisons, where qualifications and roles are matched, women continue to earn less, signaling inequities embedded in workplace culture and compensation systems.
Women of color face the steepest penalties, with Native American, Hispanic, and Black women earning between 75 and 79 cents on the white male dollar, demonstrating that wage inequality is both gendered and racialized.
At the same time, the widespread rollback of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives has weakened key pathways that once supported women’s advancement. With mentorship opportunities in decline, accountability structures disappearing, and fewer protections against bias, women feel less supported, less safe, and more cautious about making career moves.
These organizational shifts come at a time when harassment claims remain overwhelmingly female, retaliation rates exceed 70%, and women continue to be subjected to biased language and micro-aggressions that damage confidence and impede progression.
Pregnancy discrimination adds yet another layer of instability, especially since the United States does not feature guaranteed paid parental leave. This pushes many women (especially those with physically demanding roles) out of the workforce at a critical time.
These inequities have profound consequences for women’s physical and mental health. Research shows that repeated exposure to workplace discrimination increases the risk of hypertension, chronic stress, and even cardiovascular disease, while women in male-dominated fields often exhibit dysregulated cortisol patterns. Additionally, discrimination when it comes to hiring and promotion is linked to an up to three times higher likelihood of depression. Over time, these health burdens intersect with economic setbacks, lower earnings, reduced access to health care, career interruptions, and stalled advancement to create long-term disadvantages that run well into retirement.
Gender inequality in the workplace remains a pervasive and deeply structural issue, one that cannot be explained away by individual choices, qualifications, or industry differences
State-by-state and occupation-level data reinforce how widespread the problem is: in regions with varying income levels, across all types of employment, women face consistent structural barriers that restrict opportunity and suppress lifetime earning potential.
Ultimately, this study confirms that gender inequality is a defining feature of the American workforce in 2025. Without strong DEI commitments, transparent pay practices, robust discrimination protections, and clearly-marked pathways for progression, women will continue to shoulder disproportionate economic, professional, and health-related consequences. There’s now an urgent need for sustained action from employers, policymakers, and institutions to rebuild workplaces so women are valued, respected, protected, and given the opportunities men take for granted.
At Premier Law Group we know you may have faced a situation at your workplace that made you feel uncomfortable or unsafe. You may have been victimized, discriminated against, or faced inappropriate behavior from a coworker or supervisor. If you have been treated unfairly, Premier Law Group’s employment law attorneys are here to give you answers to your questions as you fight for your right to fair treatment from your employer.
Data Sources
Equal Rights Advocates
U.S. Department of Labor
The Muse
Inhersight
Forbes
Payscale
McKinsey
LeanIn.Org
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