Ahead of Equal Pay Day, Civil Rights Department Releases Statewide Breakdown of Gender and Racial Pay Disparities for 2023

SACRAMENTO – Ahead of Equal Pay Day, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) today released new statistics based on pay and demographic data for 2023. The data, which covers approximately 7.9 million workers across the state, is collected each year from private employers of 100 or more employees. While California has some of the nation’s strongest equal pay laws, the new data suggest that women and communities of color remain overrepresented among the state’s lowest paid workers.

“While not representative of the entire workforce, this data snapshot tells an all-too-familiar story — women and people of color remain overrepresented in the lowest-paying jobs and underrepresented in leadership,” said California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “California has some of the strongest equal pay laws in the country, but more businesses have to step up. The California Equal Pay Pledge and the California Equal Pay Playbook offer clear ways for companies to help us close the wage and wealth gaps. Equal pay is not only the right thing to do — driving innovation, strengthening workplace cultures, and boosting the economy — it’s the smart thing to do.”

“While California continues to have one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the nation, we can’t rest until we make much more progress,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Secretary Tomiquia Moss.“These numbers show where employers can focus efforts to bridge those gaps to provide opportunity and success for all Californians, and to make the phrase equal pay for equal work a reality.”

“Everyone deserves equal pay for equal work,” said CRD Director Kevin Kish. “When people get paid fairly, it translates directly into the ability of working families to make ends meet and more money going to their communities. We all benefit. I urge employers to take a hard look at these numbers. Businesses in our state have a responsibility to protect against discrimination in pay.”

Large Companies Must Report

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 past reporting years, the most recent pay data makes it clear that the pay gap persists among women and communities of color across a wide range of jobs and industries. Women and people of color were more often among the lowest paid workers and more likely to be concentrated in lower paying positions as laborers, service workers, and administrative support workers. Key takeaways from the 2023 data collected from approximately 170,000 California businesses include:

Key Takeaways by Gender

• Senior managers or executives were almost twice as likely to be men (64%) as compared to women (36%).
• Similarly, employees in the highest pay range earning $144,560 or more were also almost twice as likely to be men (64%) as compared to women (36%).
• Despite there being fewer women (47%) in the data, they were more likely (54%) to be in the lowest pay range earning $32,239 or less.
• Of the non-binary workers included in the data, less than 10% were in the highest pay range earning $144,560 or more.

Key Takeaways by Race and Ethnicity

• Senior managers or executives were much more likely to be white (59%), even though white workers made up less than a third of the people in the data (31%).
• Similarly, just 1 in 25 Latinos and roughly 1 in 10 Black and Native American workers were in top-earning positions making $144,560 or more.
• Among workers of the same race and ethnicity, Black (41%), Latino (41%), and Native American (39%) 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 less than one-fifth of Asian workers (18%) were in the lowest pay range.

The 2023 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 data do not represent the state’s entire employed workforce, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated to be approximately 18.6 million at the end of 2023.

State Continues the Fight for Fair Pay

CRD is committed to combatting pay inequities across the state, including through ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with the state’s pay data reporting program. Last year, 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. In 2023, 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 2023, as well as previous years of data collection, are available for download and as infographics on CRD’s website here. The pay data reporting window for 2024 is currently open and large employers are required to file with the state by May 14, 2025.

More information about the California Equal Pay Pledge is available through the Office of the First Partner.

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) Ahead of Equal Pay Day, Civil Rights Department Releases Statewide Breakdown of Gender and Racial Pay Disparities for 2023