Wage Inequality Has Dramatically Increased Among Both Men and Women Over the Last 35 Years: Wage gap* between the 95th and 50th percentiles,** by gender, 1979–2013
| Year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 2.16000203377044 | 2.16696638811092 |
| 1980 | 2.13239253849087 | 2.17842907673584 |
| 1981 | 2.22267708540181 | 2.20159240224527 |
| 1982 | 2.28188904863928 | 2.28063999021255 |
| 1983 | 2.38583577939439 | 2.25486442893318 |
| 1984 | 2.42626817907785 | 2.30697817773575 |
| 1985 | 2.51980566875859 | 2.37222329766906 |
| 1986 | 2.38517655386417 | 2.36036942701383 |
| 1987 | 2.47505555545088 | 2.35835497173599 |
| 1988 | 2.52758106800385 | 2.41848219645524 |
| 1989 | 2.48058540806365 | 2.44083757522531 |
| 1990 | 2.52732205883967 | 2.46695987969120 |
| 1991 | 2.55984048310182 | 2.48755495563991 |
| 1992 | 2.59993346605182 | 2.52364971566342 |
| 1993 | 2.67169359696726 | 2.55978093717350 |
| 1994 | 2.72377438038102 | 2.65283585032004 |
| 1995 | 2.67686870547234 | 2.67168218773088 |
| 1996 | 2.69996088233505 | 2.67856814253865 |
| 1997 | 2.74923171623923 | 2.61539322116621 |
| 1998 | 2.70457316120159 | 2.65482010217037 |
| 1999 | 2.71305626464836 | 2.71584116140051 |
| 2000 | 2.77129941881323 | 2.68553262359794 |
| 2001 | 2.80842115407119 | 2.70727581855150 |
| 2002 | 2.85211633254439 | 2.71104136515095 |
| 2003 | 2.89131750264325 | 2.74245758675623 |
| 2004 | 2.98904858339396 | 2.74854269425405 |
| 2005 | 2.96743168839806 | 2.79650740888129 |
| 2006 | 2.97909143927831 | 2.82498263941306 |
| 2007 | 2.96974372059077 | 2.81150308534172 |
| 2008 | 3.03328307561370 | 2.82886564849457 |
| 2009 | 3.10127287934964 | 2.83282883921280 |
| 2010 | 3.15014199633814 | 2.90434433590030 |
| 2011 | 3.13875514362642 | 2.91113738504222 |
| 2012 | 3.31760530901212 | 2.98678667379792 |
| 2013 | 3.30995325022422 | 3.02104038332169 |
* Ratio of workers' wages at the higher earnings percentile to workers' wages at the lower percentile
** The xth-percentile wage is the wage at which x% of wage earners earn less and (100-x)% earn more.
Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata
UPDATED FROM: Figure 4M in The State of Working America, 12th Edition, an Economic Policy Institute book published by Cornell University Press in 2012