Should two people earn the same amount of money for the same job?
That probably seems like a silly question.
But did you know that if one of those people is a woman, she’ll probably get paid less?
That’s why Equal Pay Day is so important.
Equal Pay Day
In 1996, an organization called the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) established Equal Pay Day.
The day, held on April 14 this year, was created to raise public awareness of the gender pay gap: the average difference between pay for working men and women.
Gender pay gap
The gender pay gap creates major problems, such as higher poverty rates for women and their children, as well as less money and benefits during retirement.
The pay gap is a problem for all women—even highly educated ones.
Changing date
The date of Equal Pay Day changes every year. It’s based on how many extra months a woman needs to work into a new year before she’s earned as much as a man.
So, for example, the date April 14 shows that women had to work an extra 3.5 months to earn what a man had made by the end of 2019.
A closer look
In the United States, on average, women earn only 82% of what men do.
It gets even worse for women of colour. Some are paid as little as 54% of a white man’s salary.
Why is there a pay gap?
There are several explanations for the gap. Here are a few:
Motherhood penalty
The motherhood penalty means that mothers receive fewer job opportunities because they’re seen as more distracted and less committed. Data shows that an American woman makes about 4% less for each child she has.
Gendered jobs
In the United States, 15 of the 20 highest-paid jobs are dominated by men; 14 of the 20 lowest-paid ones are done primarily by women—especially women of color.
Fewer management positions
Historically, men have been hired more often than women for management positions, which are higher-paid.
Support change
Educate yourself on the pay gap issues in your country and start discussions with others. Change can happen!
Equal Pay Day Comprehension
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Hi Andrea! I really understand what these explanations say. Just look the present situation in the hospitals for old people with the covid19! The personal, in my country, are in great part woman and also men who take care of these people. Theirs salaries are very very low. These hospitals have a big problem to hire the personnel. And our old people die, without being accompanied by their family for their last hours of life. I’m so sad, I hope, after this crise, the government is going to raise their salaries and their benefits. These people very close to our… Read more »
Thank you for your well-written comment.
I am agree about the comments by Nic, these workeds should increase your salary. We must take care to old people.
It’s very important to take care of our older people.
I understand the content of the explanation but I don’t agree on how woman is on a disadvantage on a lot of other situations and it’s kind of unfare.
Thanks for your comment.
I am happy that there are a lot of talks about this topic. Thank you
You’re so welcome 🙂
I completely agree with this pay gap topic. In my opinion, woman have to paid equally to man. On the other hand, if woman are self employed they can control their working hours. For example, I am missing my accountant’s attention since she is a mother of three children now. Even though, I am little disappointed, but she is doing the right thing by spending quality Time with her family.
We have to keep fighting to make society equal.