Gender Pay Gap Widens as Equality Lags 134 Years
GENDER EQUALITY REMAINS a distant goal, with full parity projected to take approximately 134 years to achieve worldwide, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s latest report. Despite increased female workforce participation, women hold only 32 percent of senior leadership roles globally.
JPMorgan Chase’s Global State of Gender Balance in 2025 report found that the gender pay gap persists, widening to 17 percent in the U.S. while remaining steady at 13 percent in Europe.
White men continue to hold the highest-paying jobs in the U.S., while women occupy just 10 percent of top corporate roles like CEO, COO, and CFO, the report said. The share of women directors in S&P 500 companies reached a record 34 percent last year, but progress in U.S. board representation slowed. In S&P 100 companies, C-suite women fell to 11.8 percent in 2023 from 12.2 percent in 2022.
Women are buying homes at more than twice the rate of men, yet employed women in the U.S. earned just 83 cents for every dollar men made last year, JPMorgan Chase said, citing unadjusted Payscale data.
The report found that the U.S. gender pay gap widens with age. Among workers aged 16 to 24, women earn about 8 percent less than men. The gap expands to 16 percent for prime-age workers. The pay gap widens further to 22 percent for women aged 55 to 64 and 27 percent for those 65 and older.
Despite some progress, the global gender gap across 146 countries remains largely unchanged in 2024, with 68.5 percent closed, factoring in economic and political participation, education, and health, the report said.
Closing the global gender gap by 2030 will require $360 billion in annual investment, JPMorgan Chase said, citing U.N. estimates.
The report noted that the persistent gender pay gap highlights systemic inequalities and the need for ongoing efforts toward pay equity. At the current pace, global gender equality won’t be achieved until the 22nd century, meaning a girl born today would wait until her 97th birthday, surpassing life expectancy in every country, to see full parity.
However, some trends are positive, with prime-age female labor force participation rising to 65.7 percent, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, and women in the U.S. job market reaching a record high.
JPMorgan Chase also noted that women are making “significant strides” in homeownership, with single women buying homes at more than twice the rate of single men despite facing higher mortgage rejection rates.
In September, Belvera Partner found that women make up only 15.6 percent of leaders in the B2B travel technology sector, based on an analysis of top CEOs and industry figures.
