Figure B
The gender wage gap is largest among top earners: Women’s hourly wages as a share of men’s at various wage percentiles, 1979–2016
| 10th percentile | 50th percentile | 95th percentile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 87.9% | 62.4% | 63.0% |
| 1980 | 84.4% | 63.1% | 64.5% |
| 1981 | 85.4% | 64.2% | 63.9% |
| 1982 | 85.0% | 65.3% | 64.2% |
| 1983 | 85.3% | 66.5% | 62.7% |
| 1984 | 84.1% | 67.5% | 64.2% |
| 1985 | 84.0% | 68.0% | 63.0% |
| 1986 | 83.4% | 67.3% | 66.2% |
| 1987 | 81.7% | 69.1% | 66.1% |
| 1988 | 82.3% | 71.0% | 68.2% |
| 1989 | 81.3% | 73.8% | 71.9% |
| 1990 | 83.2% | 75.2% | 73.3% |
| 1991 | 87.5% | 75.8% | 73.0% |
| 1992 | 90.3% | 76.4% | 74.5% |
| 1993 | 92.4% | 78.4% | 75.7% |
| 1994 | 91.1% | 79.1% | 76.9% |
| 1995 | 89.0% | 77.3% | 76.6% |
| 1996 | 87.7% | 77.3% | 77.2% |
| 1997 | 87.5% | 79.2% | 75.2% |
| 1998 | 90.1% | 78.0% | 76.8% |
| 1999 | 88.9% | 77.1% | 77.3% |
| 2000 | 87.0% | 78.3% | 75.2% |
| 2001 | 88.9% | 78.8% | 76.1% |
| 2002 | 89.8% | 80.0% | 76.5% |
| 2003 | 89.9% | 80.6% | 77.7% |
| 2004 | 90.8% | 81.8% | 75.7% |
| 2005 | 88.1% | 82.5% | 77.5% |
| 2006 | 88.6% | 82.4% | 78.0% |
| 2007 | 91.4% | 81.7% | 77.2% |
| 2008 | 89.9% | 83.2% | 77.1% |
| 2009 | 92.9% | 81.3% | 74.4% |
| 2010 | 93.3% | 83.4% | 76.9% |
| 2011 | 93.5% | 84.6% | 78.0% |
| 2012 | 91.8% | 83.0% | 74.5% |
| 2013 | 90.9% | 83.4% | 76.1% |
| 2014 | 91.2% | 82.2% | 78.4% |
| 2015 | 92.0% | 82.7% | 73.8% |
| 2016 | 90.7% | 83.2% | 71.4% |
Note: The xth-percentile wage is the wage at which x% of wage earners earn less and (100-x)% earn more.
Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata
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