After remaining virtually unchanged from 1995 through the 1970s, the wage gap between women and men began to decline in the 1980s. By the early 1990s, the ratio of the annual earnings of women employed full time year-round to the annual earnings of their male counterparts reached 72.0%. That ratio decreased slightly (to 71.4%) in 1995. The wage gap between women's and men's earnings is larger for self-employed workers. Nearly three-fourths of the reduction in the gap between women's and men's wages has been the result of the falling earnings of men rather than improvement in women's earnings. Both Black and Hispanic workers of both genders have continued to earn much less than white men. Women and people of color earn less than white men at all levels of educational levels of attainment, with men with a high school diploma earning nearly as much as women college graduates. The size of the wage gap between women and men varies by occupational group. The wage gap is largest in nonprofessional jobs and jobs not requiring a college degree and among workers in the 25-34 age group. Female registered nurses, however, earn more than their male counterparts. (MN)