International Equal Pay Day – September 18, 2026

History of International Equal Pay Day

International Equal Pay Day falls on September 18 of every year. This day is dedicated to raising awareness about unequal pay to women and pushing to close the gender pay gap. In the U.S., women earned about $0.82 for every dollar a man made in 2019. The pay gap for women also varies by race, ethnicity, and disability. Those paid the least in the U.S. are Hispanic women who are currently paid 57% of what a white man makes. The problem with the wage gap is that it affects many families throughout generations, where women of color accumulate less wealth on average. This pay gap is prominent in nearly all occupations and industries, but especially in male-dominated ones. Female surgeons are annually paid $19 billion less than their male counterparts.

When determining wages, employers have to ensure that affirmative defenses apply. This means that differences in pay can be acceptable when factoring in seniority and job description. If the pay gap is contingent on the sex of the employees, the employer must raise a woman’s pay instead of reducing a man’s pay.

In 1983, legislation called the Equal Pay Act stated that employees of all sexes should be paid the same for jobs with similar working conditions and requiring the same amount of skill, effort, and responsibility. The 1964 Civil Rights Act improved on this legislation as Title VII of this act prohibited the discrimination of people based on race, religion, color, or sex. This is important. Women of color have often been neglected when discussing the gender wage gap as they are paid even less than white women.