SMH: 5 Ridiculous Facts About Equal Pay That May Piss You Off
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Today marks National Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. It also brings awareness to pay discrepancies amongst men and women in the workforce. According to the National Day Calendar, folks are to commemorate the important day by wearing red and using the hashtag #EqualPayDay on social media.
Instead, we’ve decided to highlight some of the trifling facts about the gender wage disparity that has existed since women entered the workforce several decades ago.
Although we’re making strides, slowly but surely, we still have a long ways to go before we reach equality. Hit the flip to check out these preposterous facts about equal pay that will more than likely piss you off.
The Gender Pay Gap Is Larger For Older People
According to United States Census Bureau, the gap is a statistic that changes during the life of a worker. In most rich countries, it’s small when formal education ends and employment begins, and it increases with age. As we discuss in our analysis of the determinants, the gender pay gap tends to increase when women marry and when/if they have children.
Trump Has Made It Easy For Employers To Pay Women Less Than Men
Back in 2018, Trump revoked President Obama’s 2014 Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces order, which helped make sure companies receiving federal funding complied with federal labor and civil rights laws. On top of that, he also made it easier for large companies to force workers to sign arbitration clauses (a.k.a. cover-up clauses) which are used to silence victims of sexual harassment and discrimination, and keep claims out of court and off the public record.
San Francisco Currently Has The Worse Wage Gap For Black Women In Any Major City
According to EqualRights.org, Black women in San Francisco are paid only 47 cents for every dollar white, non-Hispanic men are paid — the worst wage disparity in any of the country’s 25 biggest cities. Nationally, the average for Black women is not much better, at 63 cents.
All Women Experience The Effects Of The Gender Pay Gap, But Women Of Color Have It Much Worse
According to the Economic policy institute, black women are paid about 65% of what white men are paid and Hispanic women less than 60%. The gender wage gap is smallest between white men and Asian women, who still make $2.27 less per hour than white men. Generally, women in the US made 82 cents to every dollar men made last year.
If Women Were Paid At The Same Rate As Men, That Would Add Nearly Half A Trillion Dollars Per Year To The U.S. Economy.
According to the National Partnership Of Women & Families, a yearly pay gap of $10,762 per woman means that the total gap between male and female workers in the U.S. adds up to nearly $500 billion annually. On top of that, the poverty rate would go down. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) found that if the sexes were paid equally, the poverty rate among women would fall by more than half in 28 states. In all states, poverty among working single mothers would fall by a third or more.
