Equal Pay Day: Why it's important

Equal Pay Day is observed every April to symbolize how far into the year women need to work to make what men did in the previous year, according to the National Committee on Pay Equity. It is on Tuesday to "represent how far into the next work week women must work to earn what men earned the previous week." Because women earn less on average, we must work longer for the same pay. American women work full time, year round, and are still paid significantly less than men working the same job. Still alive and well, the gender pay gap is still daunting a subject. On average, women make between 60 and 80 cents for every full dollar paid to men -- doing the very same job.  

It’s a harsh reality. It's gender bias.

“[The pay gap is] real, it’s persistent, says Patricia Fae Ho, American Association of University Women Board Chair, in the Spring 2017 report, “The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap.” It has also very recently been found that male-dominated professions are “declining in value” due to gender bias against women. “A study of 50 years of U.S. workforce data concluded that when an influx of women enter a previously male-dominated profession, average wages for the occupation as a whole actually decrease,” notes the AAUW report.

It's not a fable. It's not a fairy tale.

We must stop treating the gender pay gap as if it doesn’t exist. It is not women ‘crying because we are emotional and can’t have our way.’ It is real. And, it undermines the economic security of American women and our families. Women work hard – in some cases harder than our male counterparts to earn less than what they make. We have to acknowledge this is a problem that needs to be fixed. And we cannot wait 42 more years, a life time to some, for pay equity. We must acknowledge the flaws in the system. The historical biases and inconsistencies than have allowed this to continue. Many employers refuse to acknowledge how their pay scales primarily benefit and favor white men above all other socioeconomic groups. “Businesses can take the first step towards achieving pay equity by examining their own pay practices to determine if they treat all employees equally,” writes the National Committee on Pay Equity on their website. 

The fight continues.

We must continue to press towards progress. Sure, we've made some. Considering women were making 59 cents to every man’s earned dollar in 1963 (the year President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Law) to now an average 77 cents per dollar, it is fair to say some progress has been made. It is however important not to be fooled by this 54 year “achievement” of 18 cents. Yes, just $0.18.

We must remember women of color.

In New York, where the wage gap is the smallest, women are paid 89 cents for every dollar men are paid. The largest gap is found in Wyoming, where women are paid 64 percent of what men are paid. It’s important to note here that the wage gap is significantly larger for women of color. While women across all races and ethnicities trail behind those of white men, as well as men in their own racial or ethnic group, minority women face the greatest challenges in this regard. Data from a 2016 study shows that while white women make 83 cents for every dollar, Black, and Hispanic women make between 60 and 66 cents. It is unacceptable. Historically women of color work harder, work longer, work in worse conditions and are treated most unfairly in the workplace. It is as tragic an injustice to pay a women less because of her race as it is to pay a woman less because of her ovaries. Remember, non-inter-sectional feminism is a form of race (white) supremacy. 

It's far from over.

It is very clear that the fight for women’s pay equity must go on. Equal Pay Day is a reminder of this. We must not defend it. We must not ignore it. We must not wait it out. Men and women alike should be raising their voices in tune of changing the wage gap problem. As “generation millennial”, we have the unique opportunity to make history by advocating for equal pay for equal work. We can get involved in the legislation process. We can raise awareness. We can also negotiate our worth in the workplace. We can call our representatives and make sure they understand: the time is now to end gender pay inequity.