Governor Stein Proclaims March 26 Equal Pay Day

Governor Josh Stein declared March 26 Equal Pay Day to highlight continuing gender wage gaps and to encourage employers, businesses, governments, and nonprofits to implement equal pay for equal work.  

Equal Pay Day marks how much further into the next year women must work, on average, to make what their male counterparts earned during the previous year. Across the state and country, women earn less than their male counterparts for performing the same work, and women of color face even greater disparities.   

“Equal work should mean equal pay,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Equal Pay Day is an important reminder of the work still ahead to close the wage gap to and expand economic opportunity for women across our state.” 

“We’ve made some progress, but there’s more work to do to achieve equal pay for equal work in North Carolina,” said NC Department of Administration Secretary Gabriel J. Esparza. “Women are essential providers – and sometimes the only earner – for North Carolina families. Closing the gender pay gap will help strengthen families and communities across our state.”  

According to the NC Department of Administration’s 2025 Status of Women in NC: Investing in Economic Opportunity Report, the gender wage gap for women’s median earnings compared to men’s in North Carolina narrowed from 80.9% to 83.4% from 2016 to 2023, improving the state’s national ranking from 31st to 9th. However, despite this progress, a woman with a bachelor’s degree earned 72 cents for every dollar earned by an equally educated man, highlighting continued inequities in earnings. 

The report also found that women working full time in North Carolina spend 20% to 26% of their annual incomes on infant child care, demonstrating the impact of caregiving responsibilities on women’s economic opportunity. The report outlines several recommendations to improve the economic outlook for women and families. Some of those recommendations include expanding access to affordable child care, enacting pay equity policies across state agencies, and increasing minimum wage to promote access to livable wages. 

To learn more about this report and other recommendations, visit the NC Department of Administration’s Division for Women and Youth website. 

Read the proclamation here. 

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About NCDOA and the Division for Women and Youth 

The NC Department of Administration acts as the business manager for North Carolina state government. Under the leadership of Secretary Gabriel J. Esparza, the department oversees government operations and advocacy programs. The department's advocacy programs help to promote and assist diverse segments of the state's population that have been traditionally underserved. Part of the NCDOA, the North Carolina Division for Women and Youth’s mission is to advise the governor, state legislators and state leaders on issues impacting women and youth.