Disabled women are paid 56 cents for every dollar paid to nondisabled men

Link to report: https://nationalpartnership.org/report/disabled-women-wage-gap

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 20, 2026 – Today, the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) and its coalition partners observe the third annual Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day. The day brings light to the wage gap that disabled women face: they are paid just 56 cents for every dollar paid to nondisabled men, leaving them with $24,000 less each year to cover everyday expenses and the additional costs associated with living with a disability.

If disabled women did not lose $24,000 to the wage gap, they could afford one of the following:

• Nearly two years of child care.
• Two years of tuition and fees at a four-year college, or three times the full cost of tuition and fees at a two-year college.
• Nearly two and a half years of food.
• More than one year of premiums for employer-based health insurance.
• More than one year of monthly rent and utility costs.
• Nearly one year of mortgage payments.
• To pay off their student loan debt in less than two years.
• Four and a half years of disability-related expenses.

While disabled women who work full time throughout the year fare slightly better – paid 68 cents on the dollar – many disabled women of color face wider gaps. The National Partnership’s latest analysis of Census Bureau data finds that among full-time, year-round workers, for every dollar paid to a white, nondisabled man:

• Disabled Latinas are paid 53 cents.
• Black disabled women are paid 57 cents.
• American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and multiracial disabled women are paid 60 cents.
• White disabled women are paid 64 cents.
• Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) disabled women are paid 73 cents.

The Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day Coalition is using this annual commemoration to call for policy changes that will help alleviate challenges and break down barriers that the disabled community faces as a result of the wage gap, and of inequities in the workplace and beyond.

“Disabled women deserve to be paid fairly for their work, yet persistent inequities and barriers in the workplace continue to undermine their economic security,” said Taryn Williams, Senior Fellow for Disability at the National Partnership for Women & Families. “At a time when so many policies that support disabled people’s ability to work, earn a living and fully participate in their communities are under attack, we cannot afford to leave disabled women behind. We must advance policies that address these inequities and ensure disabled women have a fair opportunity to thrive.”

“Disabled women are doing way more with less, caring for ourselves and our families despite lower pay and soaring costs,” said Kenrya Rankin, Managing Director for Disability Culture Lab and a disabled mom. “Awareness is a start, but this Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day, we need action. We need to vote for candidates who will actually close the wage gap by ending subminimum wages and passing a national living wage for all workers, from disabled workers to incarcerated workers to service workers.”

“With underemployment rates rising and overall uncertainty in the workforce, many disabled women are being forced into gig and part-time work without reliable income, benefits, or financial security as costs are skyrocketing,” said Jasmine Williams-Jacobs, Founder and Director at Black Remote She. “We are especially seeing this among Black disabled women and trans workers nationwide who have experienced record layoffs in the last two years. Disabled women, alongside all other workers, should be compensated with equitable, living wages and policies in place to protect them regardless of work status.”

“Women with disabilities bring their talent and leadership to every single sector of our economy.” said Marlene Sallo, CEO of the National Disability Rights Network. “Yet, many continue to encounter limited opportunities and unfair pay practices. Providing staff accommodations, removing barriers to hiring processes, and insisting upon disability training for ALL individuals in the workforce will help fill these gaps.”

“Through our labor, both paid and unpaid, disabled women contribute significantly to our nation’s economy. Yet, the current economy and the workforce is designed to work against us when it should be working for us and with us,” said Maria Town, American Association of People with Disabilities President and CEO. “From closing the wage gap to modernizing outdated public benefits standards, to expanding access to home and community based services, we know the solutions that will create an economy where everyone can thrive. Disabled women are already working to achieve this reality. We need others to join us.”

“The wage gap facing disabled women is not simply a matter of unequal pay. It reflects the compounded effects of racism, sexism, and ableism in systems that undervalue their labor, limit economic opportunity, and too often penalize efforts to build financial security,” said Kate Caldwell, PhD, Director of Research & Policy at the Collective for Racial & Disability Justice, UCLA Law. “Disabled people should not have to choose between earning a living and accessing the health care, services, and supports they need to live independently. Closing the wage gap is essential, but economic justice also requires dismantling the structural barriers that deny disabled women autonomy, opportunity, and security, regardless of their employment status.”

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The following organizations make up the Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day Coalition: American Association of People with Disabilities, Association of People Supporting Employment First, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Black Remote She, Center for American Progress, Center for Economic and Policy Research, The Center for Law and Social Policy, Collective for Racial and Disability Justice, Crip the Law, Disability Culture Lab, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Equal Pay Today, Equal Rights Advocates, Ford Foundation, National Academy of Social Insurance, National Disability Institute, National Disability Rights Network, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center, New Disabled South, The Arc, and The Century Foundation.

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Gail Zuagar
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