(Photo by Hyejin Kang on Shutterstock)

NEW YORK — A significant number of Americans still don’t believe women earn less than men, even as the wage gap has recently gotten worse for the first time in twenty years. According to a new survey, 15% of Americans don’t believe there’s a gender pay gap at all.

The survey by Talker Research shows men are twice as likely as women to deny the gap’s existence (21% vs. 9%). This difference in belief highlights how differently men and women view workplace equality in America today.

Divided by Gender and Politics

When looking at the 2,000 Americans surveyed (split evenly between men and women), the results show stark differences based not just on gender but also on political views. Republicans were more than three times as likely as Democrats to say there’s no gender pay gap (24% vs. 7%).

“We need to actually talk to women and ask them what they are experiencing. What I have found is that people, men in particular, are often surprised by the things women are subjected to at work,” says Tara Ceranic Salinas, PhD, who is a professor of business ethics and the department chair of management at the University of San Diego’s Knauss School of Business.

“When I have shared some of my research findings with men in terms of negative experiences women have had in the workplace, they are shocked,” she adds. “When you aren’t experiencing something yourself, it isn’t on your radar.”

What the Numbers Show

Despite what some believe, the data is clear. Official figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that women working full-time earned an average of 83 cents for every dollar a White man earned in 2023.

“The pay gap exists, whether people believe it or not,” says Salinas. “Countless studies have shown that after controlling for time at the job, previous experience and industry women are simply paid less than their male counterparts.”

The gap is even wider for women of color:

• Black women earned just 66 cents for every dollar a White man earned
• Latina women earned only 58 cents to the dollar

LGBTQ+ workers face additional challenges according to an analysis by the HRC Foundation:

• Women in the LGBTQ+ community earn 87 cents for every dollar the typical worker earns
• Trans women earn just 60 cents on the dollar

Women’s Workplace Experiences

The survey also asked women about their own experiences at work. Nearly one-third of women (31%) said their gender has held them back professionally. Almost half (46%) have watched a male co-worker get promoted when they believed a female co-worker who deserved it more was passed over.

Surprisingly, younger workers were more likely to report seeing this kind of unfairness. Among Gen Z respondents, 52% had witnessed a less-deserving man get promoted over a woman, compared to 39% of baby boomers who reported the same thing.

Pay gaps aren’t just unfair to women—they’re expensive for businesses too.

“The gender pay gap isn’t just a statistic — it’s a story of systemic inequities that compound for marginalized women,” Naomi Clarke, head of HR at Flingster, tells Talker Research. “The gap persists because we’ve treated it as a ‘women’s issue‘ instead of a business risk. Companies lose $1.2M annually for every 100 employees due to turnover linked to pay inequity.”

Salinas explains how companies could fix the problem: “Organizations have to be willing to assess what they are doing and be transparent. Any company could eliminate the pay gap today if they decided to by simply ensuring that everyone doing the same job is receiving the same compensation.

“Organizations need to consider the message that they are sending to their employees. When someone realizes they are being paid less for doing the same job as someone else, they are immediately demotivated, frustrated and likely looking for a new job,” Salinas said. “Employee turnover is a huge annual cost for organizations so if it’s possible to avoid that cost by ensuring equal pay it makes sense financially and ethically.”

Will Things Get Better?

Many Americans don’t think the pay gap will close anytime soon. More than a third (38%) don’t believe it will happen in their lifetime.

Women are much more doubtful than men about seeing equal pay in their lifetime (45% vs. 31%), showing that those most affected by the gap are also most skeptical about fixing it.

There is a generational difference in outlook, too. About 40% of Gen Z respondents think the pay gap will close during their lifetime, while only 26% of baby boomers share that hope.

“The pay gap won’t close until we stop asking women to ‘lean in’ and start demanding workplaces step up,” says Clarke. “For us, equity isn’t a metric — it’s a mandate.”