Women still aren’t paid as much as their male counterparts for the same work—and for some women, the inequality is greater than for others. Though Equal Pay Day, symbolizing how far into the year women in general must work to earn what men earned last year, was March 24 this year, today marked Black Women’s Equal Pay Day—how far into 2021 a Black woman needs to work to catch up to what a white man earned in 2020.
We followed stories today detailing strategies to narrow the wage gap, the unique challenges faced by Black women in the workplace, recent setbacks, why inequality faced by women of color should concern us all, and more. Read on and click through to read the full stories, and join us as we continue to fight for equality for all, on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day and every day.
It’s August 3, and We’re Just Now Reaching Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, from Fast Company—“Though the most revealing labor statistics won’t be released until this fall, it’s likely next year’s Black Women’s Equal Pay Day will show a lack of progress. ‘Based on what we do know,’ says Blackwell, ‘it appears that some of the gains that Black women have made over the past several decades have been erased, [since] the highest levels of job loss were in such sectors as retail, hospitality, tourism, and service industries, which tend to employ large numbers of Black women.’”
White House Takes ‘Whole of Government’ Approach To Address Disparate Pay for Black Women, from Ebony—“Especially in light of this pandemic, it’s important that we look at all of these issues— the full picture of Black women in the workforce, of Black women’s economic security —and invest in each of those pieces, leveraging a whole of government approach to address each one.”
Black Women’s Equal Pay Day: Black Women Work 579 Days To Earn What White Men Do in 365, from NBC News—“Managers must demonstrate equity, it can’t be a choice. For example, if a woman of color on their team has racialized concerns, it’s important their manager is equipped to be an active listener and exercise their conflict resolution skills. But in many cases, managers have not been trained in conflict resolution and tend to dismiss any racialized claims by women of color–because they haven’t experienced it themselves. And when women of color are not heard or invested in by their managers, the result tends to be losing their diverse talent. […] The future of work can be successful for women of color if companies and organizations are willing to partner on the road to success.”
Why Black Women’s Wage Gap is a Problem for Everyone, from Fortune—“If the gender pay gap were eliminated, on average, a Black woman working full-time year-round would have enough money for more than two-and-a-half years of child care, more than two-and-a-half additional years of tuition and fees for a four-year public university, or 22 more months of rent, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families. […] Although median earnings for Black women significantly rose from 1979 to 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent report on women’s earnings points out that for both Black and white women, earnings growth tapered off around 2004.”
On Aug. 3, 2021, the Average Black Woman Will Catch Up to Her White Male Peer’s 2020 Earnings, from Ms. Magazine—“‘While the wage gap continues to impact women of all backgrounds, gender discrimination intersects with racial discrimination to shape Black women’s experiences in the workplace and erode their wages further,’ wrote Betsy Butler for Ms. According to a survey conducted by Time’s Up, only 17 percent of working Black women are sure that their employer pays men and women equally, and, 55 percent of Black women surveyed have faced gender or racial discrimination or related obstacles to higher-paying jobs. While progress is being made, it is not happening fast enough. At the current rate, Black women will not earn what white men do for another 100 years.”
