Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—Agency reports gender pay gap largest among federal employees who are age 40 and over, (Jan 2, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

Released today, the report is based on data regarding over two million federal employees.

The EEOC today released a report entitled, “The Impact of Age on the Gender Pay Gap in the Federal Sector,” which is based on the agency’s examination of data on over two million federal employees. The agency’s purpose was to assess whether the gender pay gap differs for people under age 40 compared to people who are age 40 and over and, therefore, protected from age discrimination by law.

“Gender pay gaps are larger for older employees. Over a lifetime, this adds up,” said Karen Brummond, a social science research analyst at the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations and author of the report. “A small gender pay gap early in one’s career can multiply into a larger gap over time.”

Findings from the report include:

• Regardless of how it was measured, the gender pay gap was larger among employees 40 years old and over.

• In that age group, occupation was the most influential attribute, followed by federal work experience.

• In the younger age group, federal work experience was the most influential attribute and occupation was the second most influential attribute.

• Gender distribution differences by agency contributed to the pay gap of women in both age groups. Different Federal agencies use different pay scales to compensate their employees. If there are more men at agencies with higher pay scales, this could increase the gender pay gap.

• Among the younger age group, educational attainment was the attribute most associated with decreasing the gender pay gap, decreasing it by $1,665 annually or -2.3 cents on the dollar.

• Veteran status also helped decrease the gender pay gap by $1,157 annually (-1.6 cents on the dollar) for the younger group and by $1,314 annually (-1.4 cents on the dollar) for the older group.

• In both age groups, men and women were rewarded (in this case, paid) in different ways even when having the same attributes. Within age groups, men’s pay increased with age more so than women’s pay, increasing the gender pay gap by $2,420 annually (3.4 cents on the dollar) for those under age 40 and by $10,534 annually (11.2 cents on the dollar) for those over age 40.

• In the older age group, occupation and education were also significantly associated with a larger gender pay gap.

Based on its findings, the EEOC recommends that federal agencies make efforts to identify and address barriers creating gender differences in occupation, which are greater among workers age 40 and over. It also recommends government-wide initiatives to eliminate gender pay inequities, which should focus on the agencies with the largest gender pay gaps, and additional research that should seek to identify the personnel practices and occupations most associated with gender pay differences across age groups in the federal sector.

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