Opinions & LessonsWomen's Rights

Campaigns, Posts, and Stories that Show the Stark Truth About Equal Pay

Yesterday was Equal Pay Day and the Internet was agog with information, stories…about the stark truth of the gender wage gap which unfortunately is still as wide and deep as a gulf.
In the words of Anna North of Vox Media
“…last year, the wage gap actually got slightly bigger. In 2018, women’s earnings were 81.1 percent of men’s, down from 81.8 percent in 2017, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). The drop was especially pronounced for black women, whose earnings went from 67.7 percent of white men’s in 2017 to 65.3 percent in 2018; and Latina women, whose earnings dropped from 62.1 percent to 61.6 percent of white men’s. White women’s earnings dropped from 81.9 percent to 81.5 percent of white men’s.”

Today, we highlight campaigns, posts, and stories that show just how slow progress toward pay equity is and how crazy it is.

 

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Today is Equal Pay Day! Here are some facts. . . At the current rate of change, the gender pay gap in the United States will not close until 2059. (Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research). . . American women who work full time, year-round in the United States are paid an average of 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts (Source: U.S. Census Data). However, when earnings are broken down by race & compared with white men, the numbers are as follows: . . Asian women: 85 cents . White women: 77 cents . Black women: 61 cents . Native American women: 58 cents . Hispanic women: 53 cents . . And we should note that these statistics don’t include the wage gap for other equally important and impacted minority groups, like trans, disabled, etc. . . The wage gap 👏is👏not👏a👏myth👏!!! And quite frankly, if you’ve ever studied anything about sociology, anthropology, or…just how the world works…it shouldn’t surprise you that this is our reality. But it SHOULD upset you…because it’s a result of our crappy & flawed human tendency to make decisions based on prejudice & social conditioning, even if we’re not conscious of doing so. . . If you’re in a position of power where you have a say in who gets hired, promoted, etc., 👏PAY👏ATTENTION👏 to how your company makes these decisions, and if/when you see a potential bias, 👏call👏it👏out👏so women & minorities in the U.S. don’t have to wait another 40+ years for equal compensation!!! . . .🎨: @ashlukadraws via @fiercebymitu .📝: @meredithspeaking . . #equalpayday #equalpay #genderequality #womensupportingwomen #womenempowerment #fyoupayme #knowyourworth

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Back in November, @votegirlvote shared several posts about the #genderpaygap. In honor of #EqualPayDay, we’d like to offer a follow-up. General #stats about the #wagegap between men and women frequently indicate that women make on average 80¢ for every dollar that a man earns. (The pay disparity is much higher for select demographics given bias over race, age, access to education, etc.) But what if we told you it was closer to 49¢? A report published by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) looking at women’s and men’s earnings over a 15-year period observed a near doubling in the pay gap when taking into account women who have temporarily left the labor force. This new value is indicative of the higher rate at which women pull out of full-time work and the greater wage penalty they face upon returning to work compared to men in similar circumstances. Women are more likely than men to both take time off to act as primary caregivers and to cite familial responsibilities as the reason – creating a ‘care chasm.’ What this essentially translates into is a child care penalty for women, necessitating among other things, greater investment into paid family leave policies, as well as child and elder care options for families as part of the solution for closing the gender pay gap. Check out the links in our bio☝️to read the full report, learn more about #equalpay, and learn how to join a #salarynegotiation workshop (courtesy of the @aauwnational). #gettrained #closethegendergap #equalpayforwomen #equalpayforequalwork #earnwhatyoureworth #womenwhowork #womensupportingwomen #showmethemoney

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It’s #EqualPayDay. Let’s review the facts. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Women in the United States had to work all of 2018 and this far into 2019 to earn what men did in 2018 alone. The pay gap exists across income and education levels – it’s largest for women with bachelor’s and advanced degrees. And it exists across industries, hours, and ages. Even when women get degrees, enter high-paying fields, and put in long hours on the job for years, that still doesn’t erase the gap. No matter how you slice it, women as a whole are paid less than men. And for Black women, Native American women, and Latinas, the pay gap is even wider.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ If ever there was a cold, hard fact about our economy, this is it. And it must change. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Equal pay is an economic issue: the pay gap can have a profound impact on a worker’s income, especially when compounded over a lifetime. For families looking to buy a house, send kids to college, save for retirement, or just have a little financial breathing room, the pay gap makes that harder. For single moms raising families on their own – and there are millions across the country – it cuts even deeper. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ And equal pay is a moral issue. It’s just plain wrong that one gender is consistently paid less than another. For anyone looking to reduce inequality, closing the pay gap would be a major step forward.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Year after year, we mark Equal Pay Day. And year after year, the pay gap persists. Still, there are signs of progress. Leaders here and abroad are making equal pay a priority. It’s more important than ever that we increase awareness. Join me in sharing the facts about the pay gap. Let’s bring more people into this fight. We can’t get to equality without equal pay.

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Equal ability, equal work, equal pay, period. #EqualPayDay

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Gbemi Lolade Adekanmbi is the cultivator of For Creative Girls. She is a firm believer in the fact that there is no division between the ability for science and the ability for Art. Her goal is to cultivate this ability with as many people as possible and make creatives a living, breathing part of how the world, organisations, and societies run.

 

 

 

 

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