Examine Supreme Court Decisions That Have Influenced the Gender Salary Gap

Authors

Shinhae Hwang, Central Washington UniversityFollow

Abstract

Project Mentor(s): Rodrigo Murataya, PhD

Despite significant advancements in gender equality policies and legal frameworks, women consistently earn less than men across various industries and job positions (Blau & Khan, 2017). As of 2023, median weekly wages of full-time women are 83.6 percent of the median weekly wages of men, an increase of just three percentage points since 2004 (BLS 2024). This stalled convergence in the gender gap in wages has led to a large and vibrant research literature that seeks to understand why change has been so slow (England 2010). This paper explores the impact of legislative acts such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and Supreme Court decisions which affect the gender salary gap. The major goal of this research is to understand how legislation and supreme court rulings have impacted the gender salary gap. The findings suggest that although legislative policies and Supreme court rulings have laid a foundation and have impacted the gender salary gap, they have not been sufficient to eliminate the gender salary gap entirely.

SOURCE Form ID

218

Recommended Citation

Hwang, Shinhae (2025) "Examine Supreme Court Decisions That Have Influenced the Gender Salary Gap," Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression: Vol. 1, Article 20.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/jsource/vol1/iss1/20