On International Equal Pay Day, Civil Rights Department Releases Statewide Demographic Breakdown of Employee Pay Data for 2022

SACRAMENTO – On International Equal Pay Day, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) today released new pay and demographic data findings for large employers in 2022 covering approximately 8.4 million workers across the state. Under California law, private employers of 100 or more employees or workers hired through labor contractors are required to annually report pay, demographic, and other workforce data. While California has some of the nation’s strongest equal pay laws and one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the country, this third annual release of large employer pay data shows that women and communities of color remain among the state’s lowest paid workers.

“The gender wage gap is not just a statistic, it’s a lifetime of missed opportunities for women — especially women of color — who face the compounded impacts of racial and gender inequities,” said California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “The wage and wealth gaps rob women and their families of financial security, career advancement, and the ability to build wealth for future generations. In California, we’re working through our Equal Pay Pledge to close the gap and normalize pay equity.”

“While I am proud that California has one of lowest gender pay gaps in the nation, pay for women and communities of color remains among the state’s lowest for paid workers,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Secretary Tomiquia Moss. “The latest employee pay data shows we still have work to do and, more importantly, shows exactly where employers can focus their efforts to realize opportunity and success for all Californians. We all share the responsibility to address the persistent inequality that affect communities up and down our state.” 

“Over the course of a single person’s lifetime, the pay gap can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages,” said CRD Director Kevin Kish. “These losses translate to people working longer and harder into their retirement years. It can mean food and housing insecurity, skipped medical care, and smaller college funds for their children. The data underscores the need for action. While California has one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the nation, we all need to do our part to build on our hard-won progress. From corporate boardrooms to small, family-owned businesses, I urge employers to look at their own practices and work with us in the fight to ensure equal opportunity on the job.”

Large Companies Must Report Pay Data

As a result of the passage of Senate Bill 973 in 2020, California collects pay data to encourage employers to conduct self-assessments of pay disparities, promote voluntary compliance with equal pay and anti-discrimination laws, and support effective state and private enforcement of civil rights laws in the workplace. In passing the law, the Legislature recognized that the pay gap continues to be a persistent challenge, resulting in billions of dollars in lost wages. In 2022, the Legislature expanded pay data reporting requirements under Senate Bill 1162 to include workers hired through labor contractors.

The Pay Gap Persists

Consistent with the first two years of pay data findings, women continue to make up the majority of low-wage workers and administrative support, service, and sales workers, while men remain concentrated among high-wage workers and executives, managers, and craft workers. Similarly, the findings show that Black, multiracial, Latino, and Native American employees also remain concentrated among low-wage workers. Key findings and takeaways from the 2022 large employer data collected from approximately 186,000 California businesses include:

Big Picture Takeaways

• Women and workers of color are more often among the lowest paid.
• Workers of color are more likely to be laborers and service workers and women are concentrated in administrative and service work.
• Men and white and Asian workers are more represented in the highest pay ranges and in more senior roles as executives and managers.

Key Findings by Gender

• While there were fewer women (48%) in the data, they made up a larger share of workers (53%) in the lowest pay range earning $32,239 or less.
• Meanwhile, men made up the majority of workers (64%) in the highest pay range earning $144,560 or more.
• Across occupations, women also made up the majority of workers in administrative (72%), service (57%), and sales (54%) positions.
• Of the non-binary workers included in the data, more than 70% were concentrated in the lowest pay range earning $32,239 or less a year.

Key Findings by Race and Ethnicity

• Black (45%), multiracial (45%), Latino (44%) and Native American (43%) workers were more likely to be found in the lowest pay range earning $32,239 or less.
• In contrast, just a quarter of white workers (25%) and roughly one-fifth of Asian workers (19%) were in the lowest pay range.
• Fewer than 1 in 20 Latinos, and 1 in 10 Black and Native American workers were in the top-earning positions, whereas nearly 1 in 4 white workers and 1 in 3 Asian workers were employed in the highest pay range.
• White workers were almost twice as likely to be senior executives (62%) as compared to workers of color.

The 2022 data collection does not include individuals who are self-employed, public employers, and employers with fewer than 100 employees. Data on workers hired through labor contractors is not currently included. As a result, the findings do not represent the state’s entire employed workforce, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated to be approximately 18.4 million at the end of 2022.

California Cracks Down on Pay Discrimination, Continues Enforcement of Pay Data Program

CRD is committed to combatting sex discrimination and pay inequities across the state, including through ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with the state’s pay data reporting program. In June, the department secured a $15 million settlement with Snapchat to resolve a more than three-year investigation over claims of employment discrimination, equal pay violations, and sexual harassment and retaliation. Last year, CRD obtained a nearly $100,000 settlement against Cambrian Homecare to resolve repeated alleged failures to report pay data to the state. The department also announced a $54 million settlement against Activision Blizzard and final court approval of a $100 million settlement against Riot Games to resolve allegations of sex-based discrimination, including with respect to equal pay, at both companies. In 2022, CRD secured a set of first-of-a-kind stipulated judgments against Chase Bank and Michaels to ensure the companies’ compliance with California’s pay data reporting laws.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of discrimination, CRD may be able to assist you through its complaint process. The department also provides general information and factsheets online about civil rights protections for members of the public, including with respect to employment discrimination.

Pay data results for 2022, as well as the first two years of data collection, are available for download and as infographics on CRD’s website here. You can learn more about the California Equal Pay Pledge through the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is the state agency charged with enforcing California’s civil rights laws. CRD’s mission is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and state-funded programs and activities, and from hate violence and human trafficking. For more information, visit calcivilrights.ca.gov.

View Press Release (PDF) On International Equal Pay Day, Civil Rights Department Releases Statewide Demographic Breakdown of Employee Pay Data for 2022