Most people assume that if they do equal work, they receive equal pay. For workers with disabilities, that assumption doesn't hold up to the data.

Research from the American Institutes for Research and the National Partnership for Women and Families shows that workers with disabilities earn roughly 66 cents for every dollar earned by workers without disabilities. For disabled women the gap is wider, closer to 50 cents on the dollar when compared to non-disabled men. These aren't just averages masking outliers. The gap is consistent across industries and education levels.

Understanding where this gap comes from, and what levers you actually have, is where a practical response begins.

What Drives the Gap

Several factors contribute, and they don't all have the same remedy.

Occupational sorting accounts for part of it. Workers with disabilities are more likely to be employed in lower-wage sectors and less likely to hold senior roles. Some of this reflects genuine access barriers: jobs that require physical presence in inaccessible environments, or workplaces that haven't built the infrastructure to support certain disabilities. Some of it reflects the cumulative effect of discrimination in hiring and promotion over time.

Gaps in negotiation also contribute. Workers with disabilities negotiate salary less frequently and often accept initial offers. When you're managing the energy cost of accommodation requests, navigating disclosure decisions, and uncertain whether pushing back will put your job at risk, negotiating can feel like one risk too many. It is a real constraint, and it costs people real money over time.

Illegal pay discrimination is part of the picture too. Employers occasionally offer lower compensation to candidates with known disabilities, sometimes framed around accommodation costs or "risk." This is illegal under the ADA. The fact that it happens anyway, and that most affected workers don't know or don't pursue it, is part of what sustains the gap.

Recognizing Pay Discrimination

Pay discrimination is rarely announced. It shows up in patterns.

Signs worth examining:

• You were hired below the stated or typical salary range for the role, without an explanation tied to your qualifications or experience
• Colleagues with comparable roles and experience are compensated significantly differently
• Your raises or bonuses are consistently lower than your performance ratings would suggest
• Accommodation cost concerns were raised during salary negotiation

None of these alone is conclusive. Together, particularly if they're documented and consistent, they can form the basis for an inquiry or a formal claim.

AskJAN provides free consultation to workers who want to understand whether their situation might constitute pay discrimination. For formal complaints, the EEOC handles ADA and Equal Pay Act charges.

What You Can Do Now

Research the market rate for your role. Use Glassdoor, Payscale, Levels.fyi, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to establish a concrete range. Know what you should be earning before you negotiate, rather than anchoring to your current salary.

If you're employed and suspect you're underpaid, request a salary review meeting. Ask what criteria determine compensation at your level and how your current pay aligns with those criteria. Keep the conversation grounded in the role and the market.

If you receive a new offer below market, negotiate. Data helps: "My research shows this role typically pays $68,000 to $80,000 in this market. I was hoping we could get closer to that range." Most employers expect negotiation. Most people with disabilities negotiate less often than they should, and the gap compounds over time.

If you believe accommodation costs were used to set your compensation, document the conversation as accurately as you can, including who said what and when. This documentation matters if you later pursue a formal claim.

The Structural Part

Some of the disability pay gap reflects discrimination you can confront directly. Some reflects structural barriers that no individual can fix alone. Federal legislation around pay transparency and salary history bans has helped in states where it's passed; advocacy organizations including the National Disability Rights Network work on the policy side of this.

At the individual level: know your number, negotiate with data, and document anything that doesn't align with what the law requires. The gap is real, and it isn't inevitable.