Gender Pay Gap Calculator - Salary Disparity & Percentage

Gender Pay Gap Calculator

The gender pay gap calculator compares two salaries, usually men's pay and women's pay, and reports the dollar difference and the percentage gap between them. It uses the same method as government pay-gap reports: the difference is measured as a share of men's pay, not of whichever salary happens to be higher.

What is the gender pay gap?

The gender pay gap is the difference between what men and women earn, shown as a percentage. This calculator produces the unadjusted gap. That means it compares two raw salary figures without adjusting for job title, hours worked, experience, or industry. Statisticians also calculate an adjusted gap, which compares people doing similar work with similar experience. The two numbers can look very different, and both are useful for different questions.

How to calculate the gender pay gap

The formula

$\text{Gender Pay Gap (\%)} = \frac{\text{Men's Pay} - \text{Women's Pay}}{\text{Men's Pay}} \times 100$

Men's pay is always the number on the bottom of the fraction, even if it turns out to be the smaller of the two salaries. This matches the method used by Eurostat, the OECD, and the UK's Gender Pay Gap Regulations 2017. Because of this, the result is signed: it can come out negative.

The dollar difference works differently. It is always a positive number, calculated as the larger salary minus the smaller one, regardless of which one is men's pay.

Worked example

Suppose men's pay is $100,000 and women's pay is$80,000.

1. Difference: $100,000 −$80,000 = $20,000
2. Percentage gap: ($100,000 −$80,000) ÷ $100,000 × 100 = 20%

A 20% gap means women earn 80 cents for every dollar men earn in this example (100% − 20% = 80%).

When the result is negative

If women's pay is higher than men's pay, the formula still divides by men's pay, so the answer comes out negative. For example, men's pay of $50,000 and women's pay of$60,000 gives:

($50,000 −$60,000) ÷ $50,000 × 100 = −20%

A negative gap means men are the lower earners in that comparison. The size of the negative number is not the same as the size of the gap you would get if the two salaries were swapped, because the denominator changes too.

Using this calculator

Enter men's pay in the first field and women's pay in the second field. The two fields are not interchangeable: because men's pay is fixed as the denominator, entering the numbers in the wrong field changes both the size and the sign of the percentage result, even though the two salaries themselves stay the same. The dollar difference is unaffected by which field each number goes in.

Results are displayed in US dollars. To compare salaries paid in another currency, convert both figures to the same currency first.

Limitations

This tool performs a simple two-number comparison. It does not account for job role, seniority, hours worked, bonuses, or benefits. A gap between two individual salaries is not the same as an organization-wide pay gap, which is usually calculated from median or mean pay across many employees. For workplace audits, compare people in equivalent roles and consider using median pay across groups rather than two single salaries.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate the gender pay gap percentage? Subtract women's pay from men's pay, divide the result by men's pay, and multiply by 100. Example: ($100,000 −$80,000) ÷ $100,000 × 100 = 20%.

Why does it matter which salary goes in which field? Because men's pay is always the denominator. Swapping the two numbers between the fields changes the size of the percentage and can flip its sign, even though the dollar difference stays the same.

What does a negative percentage mean? It means women's pay is higher than men's pay in that comparison. The formula still divides by men's pay, so the result appears as a negative number rather than switching to a positive one.

What is the difference between the adjusted and unadjusted pay gap? The unadjusted gap, which this calculator produces, compares raw salary figures. The adjusted gap statistically controls for factors such as job type, hours, and experience, so it compares more similar roles. Both are used in pay-equity research, but they answer different questions.

Does this calculator account for experience, education, or job role? No. It only compares the two salary numbers entered. For a meaningful workplace audit, compare people with similar roles, experience, and hours before using this formula.

Can I use it for hourly wages or other currencies? Yes, as long as both figures use the same unit (both annual salaries, or both hourly rates) and the same currency. Results are shown with a dollar sign regardless of the currency used, so convert both numbers to one currency before entering them.

Who publishes gender pay gap figures like this? Statistical agencies such as Eurostat and the UK Office for National Statistics publish national pay gap figures using the unadjusted method. In the UK, companies with 250 or more employees must publish an annual gender pay gap report using this same formula.