The wage gap costs women $1.6 trillion a year, new report finds. Here's how to get the pay you deserve

cnbc.com:

The wage gap costs women in the U.S. about $1.6 trillion a year, a new report finds.

Women earned 78 cents for every dollar that men made in 2022, according to National Partnership for Women and Families.

Researchers calculated the total cost to women of the wage gap by using statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, specifically data on all women who worked, whether in full- or part-time jobs, and those who took time off for illness or caregiving.

Here's a look at more coverage in CNBC's Women & Wealth special report, where we explore ways women can increase income, save and make the most of opportunities.

«We've had the pay gap for so long, people have become desensitized to it and think it's normal,» said Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. «But it's not anything that we should consider normal, and we ought not to normalize disparities that ought not to exist.»

While the numbers are discouraging, experts say the information should motivate women to be more aggressive during pay negotiations.

«I don't want it to dissuade women or make them feel less motivated to go out there and get the pay they deserve,» said career and money expert Mandi Woodruff-Santos.

Three factors are contributing to the persistent pay gap, said Frye:

«If you intervene in those three issues alone, you could cut that gap significantly,» said Frye.

Asian American women earned the most among female workers, making 89 cents for every dollar white, non-Hispanic male workers earn, the National Partnership for Women and Families found.

That pay scale worsens for each major racial or ethnic group in the country, with white female workers paid 74 cents to the dollar; Black female workers, 66 cents; and Latina female