US Gender Pay Gap Widens, UN CSW70 Votes 37-1

American women earned 81 cents for every dollar men earned in 2024 — down from 83 cents the year before. Equal Pay Day fell on March 26, a day later than 2025. It's the first consecutive widening of the gender pay gap since the 1960s. The same week, the UN's women's commission held its first-ever recorded vote after the US objected. Romania passed femicide legislation. The EU launched a five-year equality strategy. Progress in some places, reversal in others.

Equal Pay Day Arrives Later

Men's median income grew 3.7% between 2023 and 2024. Women's stayed flat. The data predates the Trump administration — this happened under Biden.

An AP-NORC poll found sharp divergence. Six in ten employed women said men have more wage opportunities. Among employed men, half said both genders have equal chances. Three in ten employed women reported personal wage discrimination.

"We're reversing decades of hard won progress," said Deborah Vagins, director of Equal Pay Today. Federal pay transparency laws have stalled in Congress. States have adopted their own rules, with mixed results.

UN Commission Breaks 80 Years of Consensus

CSW70 ended with something that hadn't happened in eight decades: a recorded vote. The Agreed Conclusions passed 37–1. The US cast the sole opposing vote, objecting to language on abortion and gender terminology.

The document calls on governments to repeal laws that discriminate against women — family relations, property rights, financial credit, child marriage, FGM. It addresses online gender-based violence, including nonconsensual intimate images and deepfakes targeting women.

No country has achieved full legal equality between women and men, per a UN secretary-general's report. Kenya's delegation pointed to mobile courts in rural areas. Iceland's national police commissioner noted that even top-ranked countries face gaps between law and reality.

Romania Passes Femicide Law

Romania's parliament voted 284–1 on March 25 to define femicide in law for the first time. Sentences: 15–25 years or life. The law requires nationwide data collection and recognises children of victims as direct victims entitled to assistance.

The numbers behind it: 53 women killed by current or former partners in 2025. At least 14 women assaulted every hour. Police responded to over 130,000 domestic violence cases last year — 5% more than 2024.

FILIA, the feminist organisation that pushed for the law, called it "an important day." It awaits promulgation by President Nicusor Dan.

In North Macedonia, International Women's Day marches in Skopje began with a minute of silence for Ivana and Katja Jovanovski — mother and daughter killed after prolonged domestic violence.

EU Launches New Equality Strategy

The European Commission's Gender Equality Strategy for 2026–2030 covers cyberviolence, AI-related risks to women, and workplace inequality. At the current pace, the EU won't reach full gender equality for 50 years.

The strategy builds on the 2020–2025 plan: directives on violence against women, pay transparency, gender balance on corporate boards. A new toolkit released March 26 provides EU-wide guidelines for gender-neutral job evaluation.

Three Directions at Once

The EU expands regulation. Romania adds criminal law. The US scales back enforcement and opposes international consensus documents.

The gap isn't just policy — it's perception. US media frames Equal Pay Day as a domestic labour story. EU coverage frames it as regulatory progress. The CSW70 vote barely registered in American newsrooms. In European ones, it led as proof the US is retreating from multilateral women's rights commitments.

Same week. Same data. Three framings that don't overlap.