The gender pay gap persists in higher education despite the efforts to eliminate it by institutions and individuals. Many scholars have researched the causes of the gender pay gap and theories related to the pay gap. I discuss intersectionality theory, representative bureaucracy theory, role congruity bias, and gender negotiation bias in the framework of the gender pay gap. I contextualize the gender pay gap at seven Illinois state universities. I hypothesize that the gender pay gap exists within these universities, decreases over time, and women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings are positively impacted by female leadership. I found my hypotheses to be supported by my data through regression analysis and calculating women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings.