Governor Mills Proclaims March 26 National Equal Pay Day in Maine

March 27, 2026

For Immediate Release: March 26, 2026

Governor Mills Proclaims March 26 National Equal Pay Day in Maine

According to the United States Census Bureau, the difference between median earnings for men and women in Maine who worked full-time, year-round in 2024 was $8,800.

MAINE - Governor Janet Mills has proclaimed March 26, 2026 National Equal Pay Day in Maine, symbolizing how far into 2026 women in the United States must have worked to earn what men had earned by December 31, 2025. Nationally, women aged 16 and over who are working full-time, year-round are on average paid just 83 cents for every dollar paid to men. The wage gap is even more pronounced for women of color. Nationally in 2024, African American women made 65 cents on the dollar, and Hispanic or Latina women just 59 cents on the dollar compared to white, non-Hispanic men.

"Nationally, women still earn 83 cents for every dollar paid to men - Maine people know that just isn't right," said Governor Janet Mills. "I've proclaimed today as National Equal Pay Day in Maine to remind us all that we have more work to do to ensure Maine women receive equal pay for equal work."

Requirements regarding equal pay have been a part of Maine law since 1949, but wage inequality persists. To promote pay equality, Governor Mills signed legislation in 2019 to discourage employers from basing wages on an employee's salary history.

"The wage gap remains a reality we must confront. Men working full-time, year-round earn nearly $9,000 more than womenand the gap is even wider for women of color," said Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman. "Equal pay and access to good-paying jobs strengthen families and fuel economic growth. Maine is expanding pathways into high-wage careers through pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs in construction and other occupations, helping ensure that anyone with the skills and opportunity to succeed can do so."

According to the United States Census Bureau, the difference between median earnings for men and women in Maine who worked full-time, year-round in 2024 was $8,800. Men earned a median of $65,100, while women earned $56,300.

Nationally in 2024, the average differences in median earnings between white, non-Hispanic or Latino men and women of color are $31,800 for American Indian and Alaska Native women, $26,300 for Black or African American women, and $2,200 for Asian women.

According to the 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, the five occupational groups in Maine with the largest wage gaps are legal occupations; health diagnosing and treating practitioners; sales and related occupations; production occupations; and transportation occupations.

"Equal Pay Day is an important reminder that while our laws protecting equal pay are strong, our next efforts to achieve equal pay must focus on improving the systems that keep women's industries and women's work underpaid and undervalued," said Destie Hohman Sprague, Executive Director of the Maine Women's Lobby. "Addressing wage gaps in 'women's' fields such as childcare and direct care, compensating unpaid care such as paid family and medical leave, and supporting accountability for discrimination in a robust Maine Dept. of Labor and Maine Human Rights Commission are critical parts of the state infrastructure that ensures equitable compensation for all."

"Equal Pay Day is an important marker of how far into each new year the average woman must work in order for her earnings to catch up to what the average man had earned by the end of the previous year. At the same time, it's important to remember that the pay gap for women varies by demographic. All of this reflects the undervaluing of work done by women, and lands even harder on some constituencies. After two years of decline, Equal Pay Day for African women is July 21, for Mom's it's August 6, for Latina women October 8 and for Native American women it's all the way to November 19," said Cynthia Phinney, President of the AFL-CIO. "Paying attention to these numbers and these gaps matters in the work to build an economy that allows everyone to flourish by removing barriers to economic security. The best way to close the pay gap and fight wage discrimination is with a union contract, so on Equal Pay Day we also affirm our resolve to ensure all women regardless of race or national origin have the right to join a union, free from coercion and intimidation."

"Women of every race and background are essential to Maine's workforce, yet their work remains undervalued and underpaid," said Ariel Ricci, Executive Director of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations. "Equal Pay Day reminds us that pay inequity is still a reality, especially for Black, Latina, and Indigenous women across Maine today. Closing the wage gap requires deliberate policy choices, including pay transparency, access to high-quality jobs, and affordable childcare, which is fundamental to women's ability to work and advance. Addressing these inequities is key to building a fair economy where everyone can thrive."

"When we think about the gender wage gap, we most often think of pay discrimination as the cause of this disparity - paying women less than men for the same work. While this is an issue, Equal Pay Day reminds us that the root causes of the wage gap also involve systemic challenges like the undervaluing of care work, barriers to higher paying jobs, and the need for affordable and high-quality care infrastructure," said Elinor Higgins, Executive Director of Maine's Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (MePCSW). "On Equal Pay Day, we work to support a stronger economic future for everyone in Maine and reaffirm the importance and value of the work that women are doing across the state."

In their most recent biennial report, MePCSW analyzed the landscape of Maine women's labor, employment, and economic security which illustrates how the wage gap drives financial disparities across the lifespan, with part-time, low-wage work and lacking care infrastructure leading to higher rates of financial hardship among women in Maine.

Maine's Equal Pay Law requires that employees be paid the same wages as employees of the opposite sex for work that is of a comparable nature in skill, effort, and responsibility.

MDOL's Bureau of Labor Standards, who enforces the Equal Pay Law in Maine, has a poster available for employers free of charge that outlines the basics of the law:

• An employer may not discriminate between employees in the same establishment on the basis of sex by paying wages to any employee at a rate less than the rate at which the employer pays any employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on jobs that have comparable requirements relating to skill, effort and responsibility.
• An employer may not prohibit employees from discussing their wages with coworkers. Anyone who believes they are not being paid the same wages as an employee of the opposite sex for comparable work, should file an equal pay complaint. The Maine Department of Labor has a printable equal pay complaint form here: https://www.maine.gov/labor/labor_laws/publications/epcomplaintform.pdf

A mailed or emailed complaint form can be requested by contacting the Wage and Hour Division at 207-623-7900 or mdol@maine.gov.