Equal Pay Day later in 2026 as Gender Pay Gap Widens

On #EqualPayDay from NPR:

“Equal Pay Day has come around again.

“The annual observance marks how far into the new year women must work to make what men earned in the previous year. This year, it's March 26, a day later than it was in 2025.

“That's because for the second year in a row, the gender pay gap in the U.S. has widened.

“According to the most recent data from the Census Bureau, women working full-time, year-round, now earn 81 cents for every dollar men earn. That's down from 83 cents a year ago, and 84 cents the year prior.”

Established in 2016, the Reform Pay Equity Initiative (RPEI) is a project spearheaded by Women of Reform Judaism and Women's Rabbinic Network to bring awareness and resources to Union for Reform Judaism congregations and partners.

Since 2017, the ACC has called on those partners and congregations to close the gender pay equity gap. Read the resolution here.

Despite this commitment, the 2025 ACC salary survey confirmed what the Census Bureau data referenced above shows. Female identifying cantors have lost ground to their male identifying counterparts. “Pay differences persist across the field. The average base salary for female cantors is $149,715, compared with $188,811 for male cantors, meaning that on average, women earn approximately 79% of what men earn.” You can find our salary survey executive summary here.

Last fall, Rachel Roth shared a blog post from WRJ outlining the disparity across the Reform Movement. You can read her post here.

On this #EqualPayDay when the wage gap has widened, we invite our Movement partners and employers to recommit to ending the gender equity pay gap.

You can find the RPEI resources on the website.