“The gap in pay between chief executives and rank-and-file employees has been growing steadily, and now regulators want companies to tell investors just how wide it is.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission, addressing an issue that has captured the public’s attention like few others at the agency, proposed a rule on Wednesday that would require publicly traded companies to disclose the difference between the pay of chief executives and their employees.

“Three of the five members of the S.E.C. voted in favor of the proposal, which would require public companies to report the ratio of top executive compensation to the median compensation of their employees. Median pay is the point at which half the employees earn more and half earn less.

“Public scrutiny over outsize pay packages at some of the country’s biggest companies has intensified since the financial crisis, and the S.E.C. said it had received more than 20,000 public letters in support of and opposition to its new proposals.”

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