While pay equity for women has improved over the last eight years, the period examined in the study, women and people of color are underrepresented among those earning $100,000 or more, the study found. Women represented 62 percent of higher education’s professional workforce in 2023–24, and white women held 41.1 percent of the top-paying jobs, while white men held 39.5 percent. No other racial group comprised more than 4 percent, with Asian women coming the closest at 3.9 percent. 

The CUPA-HR survey also found that pay gaps between women and white men worsen with age—with the exception of Asian women, pay inequity is more severe for older women. Hispanic men also tended to see greater pay gaps with age comparative to white men.