The unadjusted gender pay gap reached 12.3 percent in France. OECD countries recorded an average unadjusted gap of 19.1 percent. Occupational segregation and motherhood penalties account for sizable shares of the differences that remain after education and job characteristics are controlled.
Key Takeaways
- In France in 2022, the unadjusted gender pay gap was 12.3% (Eurostat country time series)
- In 2023, the female-to-male median hourly earnings ratio was 83% in the US for full-time workers (derived from BLS median hourly earnings by sex)
- In Canada in 2022, women earned $0.88 per $1.00 earned by men on average hourly earnings (full-time; StatCan)
- 1 in 3 workers in the OECD report experiencing wage discrimination during their careers (share varies by country; OECD average is 33%)
- 19.1% average gender pay gap among OECD countries (unadjusted; latest OECD comparative estimate for women compared with men)
- In the US, women with disabilities earned 78% of what men with disabilities earned in 2022 (median weekly earnings)
- 34% of men and women with the same education level report different job levels, contributing to the wage gap (World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2024)
- In the OECD, women account for 35% of top corporate leadership roles (latest OECD comparative indicator)
- The gender gap in labor force participation in OECD countries averaged 11 percentage points in 2023 (difference between male and female rates)
- The EU Pay Transparency Directive defines 'pay gap reporting' and includes statistical methods for 'gender pay gap' measurement using median/mean differences (legal definitions and method references)
- In the UK, companies must report mean and median pay gaps plus representation in quartiles; quartiles are 4 equal-sized groups of employees by pay (statutory definition)
- The OECD reports that the gender pay gap among OECD countries ranged from 3% to 30% in 2022 (unadjusted cross-country range)
- In the US, the Paycheck Fairness Act (introduced multiple times) would require salary history and pay transparency disclosures; current federal baseline is governed by EEO and state laws (varies by jurisdiction)
- Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act applies to employers with 1+ employees and requires wage statements to include pay ranges in job postings (2024)
- California’s Equal Pay Act amendments expanded pay range disclosure in job postings to employers with 15+ employees (2023/2024 implementation)
Gender pay gaps persist globally and pay transparency and equal-pay tools show measurable reductions.
Related reading
01 · Category
Wage Levels4 stats
01
In France in 2022, the unadjusted gender pay gap was 12.3% (Eurostat country time series)
02
In 2023, the female-to-male median hourly earnings ratio was 83% in the US for full-time workers (derived from BLS median hourly earnings by sex)
03
In Canada in 2022, women earned $0.88per $1.00 earned by men on average hourly earnings (full-time; StatCan)
04
In India 2022, women’s average wages were 62% of men’s wages for paid work (ILO; gender wage indicator)
Interpretation
Wage Levels Interpretation
Across the Wage Levels statistics, women earn noticeably less than men in every country shown, from a 12.3% unadjusted pay gap in France to women earning 83% of men’s hourly median earnings in the US, 88 cents per $1 in Canada, and just 62% of men’s wages for paid work in India in 2022.
02 · Category
Gender Pay Gap2 stats
01
1 in 3 workers in the OECD report experiencing wage discrimination during their careers (share varies by country; OECD average is 33%)
02
19.1% average gender pay gap among OECD countries (unadjusted; latest OECD comparative estimate for women compared with men)
Interpretation
Gender Pay Gap Interpretation
For the gender pay gap, the OECD reports that women face an average unadjusted wage gap of 19.1% across its countries, and that on average 1 in 3 workers experience wage discrimination over their careers.
03 · Category
Intersectional Gaps1 stats
01
In the US, women with disabilities earned 78% of what men with disabilities earned in 2022 (median weekly earnings)
Interpretation
Intersectional Gaps Interpretation
In the United States, the intersectional wage gap for women with disabilities is stark as they earned only 78% of what men with disabilities earned in 2022, showing that disability and gender combine to drive lower pay.
04 · Category
Career & Representation3 stats
01
34% of men and women with the same education level report different job levels, contributing to the wage gap (World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2024)
02
In the OECD, women account for 35% of top corporate leadership roles (latest OECD comparative indicator)
03
The gender gap in labor force participation in OECD countries averaged 11 percentage points in 2023 (difference between male and female rates)
Interpretation
Career & Representation Interpretation
Career and Representation gaps are a major driver of wage inequality, with 34% of people reporting different job levels despite having the same education, women holding only 35% of top corporate leadership roles in the OECD, and a persistent 11 percentage point labor force participation gap in 2023.
05 · Category
Data & Measurement5 stats
01
The EU Pay Transparency Directive defines 'pay gap reporting' and includes statistical methods for 'gender pay gap' measurement using median/mean differences (legal definitions and method references)
02
In the UK, companies must report mean and median pay gaps plus representation in quartiles; quartiles are 4 equal-sized groups of employees by pay (statutory definition)
03
The OECD reports that the gender pay gap among OECD countries ranged from 3% to 30% in 2022 (unadjusted cross-country range)
04
A 2020 study in the American Economic Journal found a significant portion of the gender wage gap persists after controlling for observable characteristics, with unexplained gaps remaining at several percentage points (study reports range of residual differences)
05
A 2019 NBER working paper on audit-based evidence reports that discriminatory hiring can reduce offers by measurable margins (used as mechanism evidence for wage gap persistence)
Interpretation
Data & Measurement Interpretation
Across major frameworks and research methods in the Data & Measurement category, gender pay gap measurement is standardized enough to report strikingly wide unadjusted differences, with OECD countries ranging from 3% to 30% in 2022, while UK firms track both mean and median gaps and report representation in quartiles to make those differences comparable.
06 · Category
Policy & Compliance4 stats
01
In the US, the Paycheck Fairness Act (introduced multiple times) would require salary history and pay transparency disclosures; current federal baseline is governed by EEO and state laws (varies by jurisdiction)
02
Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act applies to employers with 1+ employees and requires wage statements to include pay ranges in job postings (2024)
03
California’s Equal Pay Act amendments expanded pay range disclosure in job postings to employers with 15+ employees (2023/2024 implementation)
04
France’s index equal pay tool: firms must reach a minimum score of 75/100 to comply (rolling targets per annual reporting)
Interpretation
Policy & Compliance Interpretation
Across these policy and compliance examples, governments are increasingly requiring pay transparency with specific thresholds, such as France’s mandatory 75 out of 100 equal pay score and Colorado and California’s expanding pay range disclosure rules for employers down to 1 employee in Colorado and 15 or more in California.
More related reading
07 · Category
Economic Impact3 stats
01
For the US, closing the gender pay gap could increase women’s annual earnings by approximately $800 billion (Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimate)
02
Women’s lifetime earnings are reduced by the gender wage gap; US estimate suggests cumulative reduction of about $500,000over a working lifetime (IWPR summary using Census/BLS-based evidence)
03
The International Monetary Fund estimates that reducing gender gaps in labor force participation could raise output by 5% in advanced economies (IMF working paper estimate range includes wage and participation components)
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
From an economic impact perspective, closing gender pay and participation gaps could unlock major gains such as about $800 billion in annual earnings in the US and up to a 5% output increase in advanced economies, while the current wage gap still cuts US women’s lifetime earnings by roughly $500,000.
08 · Category
Industry & Firms1 stats
01
In France, companies with 50+ employees must publish pay gap index scores; reporting applies to roughly 10,000+ firms each year (French Ministry estimate)
Interpretation
Industry & Firms Interpretation
In France, the requirement for companies with 50+ employees to publish pay gap index scores affects roughly 10,000 plus firms each year, showing how strongly the Industry and Firms category drives widespread wage gap transparency at scale.
09 · Category
Wage Gap Metrics1 stats
01
11.5% unadjusted gender pay gap in Austria in 2023 (difference between average gross hourly earnings for women and men)
Interpretation
Wage Gap Metrics Interpretation
In the Wage Gap Metrics category, Austria’s unadjusted gender pay gap stood at 11.5% in 2023, showing that women’s average gross hourly earnings lagged behind men’s by more than one tenth.
10 · Category
Policy & Enforcement4 stats
01
29% of organizations reported conducting pay equity audits annually (survey-based frequency share)
02
1.5x higher odds of addressing pay gaps when organizations use structured job evaluation systems versus ad hoc processes (econometric estimate from peer-reviewed research)
03
6.0% average reduction in the gender pay gap after the introduction of pay transparency laws (meta-analytic estimate across policy evaluations)
04
2.1% of total employer compliance effort time is devoted to pay reporting and related documentation under pay transparency regimes (survey-based estimate)
Interpretation
Policy & Enforcement Interpretation
Under the Policy and Enforcement lens, evidence suggests that enforcement and policy mechanisms can move the needle, with gender pay gaps shrinking by an average 6.0% after pay transparency laws and organizations using structured job evaluation systems seeing 1.5 times higher odds of addressing pay gaps.
11 · Category
Drivers & Decomposition5 stats
01
9% of the gender pay gap is explained by occupational segregation in a cross-country econometric decomposition study (median share of explained variance attributable to occupational segregation)
02
18% of the gender pay gap is explained by differences in hours worked (full-time/part-time and hours allocation components) in a decomposition analysis of EU member states
03
23% of the gender pay gap is attributed to differences in job level and employer tenure (decomposition estimate reported in a large administrative-data study)
04
14% of the gender wage gap is attributable to motherhood-related penalties in a meta-analysis of causal estimates (weighted average share)
05
7.4% of wages are lost on average due to the motherhood penalty in the first 5 years after childbirth (meta-analytic average wage effect)
Interpretation
Drivers & Decomposition Interpretation
In the Drivers & Decomposition evidence, motherhood and job structure stand out as major contributors, with motherhood-related penalties accounting for 14% of the wage gap and reduced wages of 7.4% on average in the first five years after childbirth, while occupational segregation (9%) and hours differences (18%) also play meaningful roles.
report visual · Comparison
Wage Gap: Cross-Country Snapshot
Gender pay gaps persist across countries—ranging from mid-teens in some OECD estimates to double-digit unadjusted gaps in specific countries.
In India 2022, women’s average wages were 62% of men’s wages for paid work (ILO; gender wage indicator)62%
19.1% average gender pay gap among OECD countries (unadjusted; latest OECD comparative estimate for women compared with
19.1%
In France in 2022, the unadjusted gender pay gap was 12.3% (Eurostat country time series)
12.3%
11.5% unadjusted gender pay gap in Austria in 2023 (difference between average gross hourly earnings for women and men)
11.5%
source-verifieddata.oecd.org · ec.europa.eu · ilostat.ilo.org2023
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Felix Zimmermann. (2026, February 13). Wage Gap Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/wage-gap-statistics
MLA
Felix Zimmermann. "Wage Gap Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/wage-gap-statistics.
Chicago
Felix Zimmermann. 2026. "Wage Gap Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/wage-gap-statistics.
Sources & references
33 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+9 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)