July 31st is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, which highlights the amount of time Black women need to work to earn the same wages as their White male counterparts.  Black women have to work on average 7-8 months longer to earn the same money as White men.
Pay inequality impacts nearly ALL women regardless of their education, professional standing, race or income — women are paid less than men in the top 20 male-dominated jobs, and also paid less than men in the top 20 female-dominated jobs!
But the wage-gap is especially bad for women of color. Black women on average make 83 cents for every dollar earned by White women.
The truth is, unequal pay isn’t just about gender, but is inextricably linked to race and class.  It’s ultimately about deeper societal values and norms – America is still operating under the belief that women are somehow less valuable than men, and women of color even less valuable because of the color of their skin.
We’ve got to stand together and start speaking about this issue now, tomorrow, and every day persistently!
One of the essential first steps we need to take is to have conversations with those we know and love. Here’s how you can take part:
- Do the people around you know the pay gap exists and is real? Have a conversation this week with your friends, partner, children, siblings, male and female work colleagues about Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, the universal and persistent problems facing women in the workplace, and the underlying sexist and racist cultural norms that inform these practices.
- Share our infographic on Facebook and Twitter.
Let’s come together and #Slay4EqualPay.  This is the way to build a people-driven movement for change — we can overcome this!
