Dear
John,
Today is Black Women's Equal Pay Day. That means, on average, a Black woman is just now being paid what her white male counterpart was paid in 2019.
That’s right. Black women have to work 20 months to make one year’s pay — creating not just a wage gap, but a wealth gap over time.
After working for 40 years, a Black woman will be underpaid by nearly $1 million. What that looks like in real life is not being able to buy a home and build equity to pass along to your children and grandchildren. It also looks like not having savings to fall back on during a disaster such as COVID-19 and struggling to put food on the table every day.
To be clear, racism and sexism — not individual choices — cause the wage gap. Sexual harassment, gender discrimination and white supremacy interrupt Black women’s work and push them out of jobs and even entire industries.
Black women have been leading the fight against the racist institutions that created this and so many more injustices against Black lives.
That’s why Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is about more than counting the cents on the dollar left out of Black women’s paychecks. It's about doing our part to fight for a world where Black lives are valued and where Black workers can build economic power.
There are many ways to show-up for Black Women’s Equal Pay Day today. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Join the official tweet storm today at 2 p.m. ET/ 11 a.m. PT (send your own tweet using #BlackWomensEqualPayDay or share any of our tweets @NPWF)
- Read up on the factors behind Black women not being paid fairly in 2020
- Watch this short video I made for more ways to uplift Black women in this fight today and every day
Thank you!
— Vasu
Vasu Reddy
Senior Policy Counsel, Economic Justice
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