November 18, 2025, marks Native Women’s Equal Pay Day — falling within Native American Heritage Month and underscoring a painful truth about economic inequality in the United States. This date represents how far into the year Native women must work to earn what white, non-Hispanic men earned the year before.
Native American women continue to face one of the most severe wage disparities in the United States. Full-time, year-round Native women workers earn just 58 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. The gap widens to 53 cents when all Native women workers are included. Over a lifetime — roughly 40 working years—this shortfall amounts to nearly $1 million in lost income.
If current trends continue, Native women working full-time, year-round will not reach pay parity until the year 2498. We cannot and must not wait that long. We must dismantle the inequitable systems that hold Native women back — systems rooted in a shameful history of colonialism, genocide, and state-sanctioned violence. Native Women’s Equal Pay Day calls attention to the economic consequences of this history and the urgent work still required to achieve justice.
According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 64% of Native households are headed by women. More often than not, Native women are the primary breadwinners and caregivers for their families. These caregiving responsibilities often limit mobility and access to higher-paying jobs. When Native women are underpaid, it directly affects their families’ ability to access education, quality healthcare, food security, and long-term financial stability. These economic inequities ripple across entire communities, deepening cycles of poverty and restricting opportunities for future generations. Closing the wage gap is not only a matter of fairness; it is a matter of dignity and of securing a better future for Native families.
The recent government shutdown and loss of SNAP benefits further devastated Native communities. Federal data shows that at least one-fourth of Native Americans rely on federal food assistance, and in some tribal communities, that percentage rises as high as 60–80%. As Janie Simms Hipp, CEO of the Native American Agriculture Fund, wrote in 2020:
“Federal feeding programs are a fixture of Tribal communities due to the remoteness of our people and our lands,” she said. “It is also due to minimal employment opportunities, anemic transportation systems and in many cases the total absence of electricity and running water in tribal homes.”
For Native women — who already earn barely more than half of what white men earn — these gaps in government support create insurmountable barriers to meeting basic needs like food and medicine. They also make it harder for women to leave abusive situations, as long-term safety is deeply tied to financial independence.
NOW members support robust federal and state-level policies that ensure fair pay in all industries, access to higher-paying jobs, stronger workplace protections, and the needs of working families, including paid sick leave. We continue to fight for legislation in Congress that will address these urgent priorities, including the Paycheck Fairness Act, the BE HEARD Act, the FAMILY Act, and the Healthy Families Act.
As we honor the rich history, culture, and enduring leadership of Indigenous peoples, we recommit ourselves to raising awareness of the systemic inequities Native women experience, both in the workforce and in their daily lives. Native Women’s Equal Pay Day is a call to action, and NOW members are determined to answer it with advocacy, solidarity, and the pursuit of lasting justice.