Cross-posted on Monica Ramirez’s Medium page.
We recently learned of the conversation on Twitter about the wage gap for Black Women and Latinas. It’s not often that the issue of equal pay breaks through and we are grateful to Gina Rodriguez, Gabrielle Union, Ellen Pompeo and Emma Roberts for their conversation — it was honest, funny, tough and a reminder that the pay gap shows up in every setting. As longtime equal pay advocates, we are writing to add some key facts to the conversation.
During the discussion, Gina Rodriguez named that the wage gap is widest for Latinas — a fact that is likely front of mind given that we just marked Latina Equal Pay Day in November. In 2017, women working full time year-round were typically paid 80 cents for every dollar paid men. Asian women were typically paid 85 cents, White women were paid 77 cents, Black women were paid 61 cents, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women were paid 59 cents, American Indian and Alaska Native women were paid 57 cents and Latinas were paid 53 cents for every dollar paid white, non-Hispanic men. These statistics are based on median wages for full time workers in all fields, but no matter the industry, job, or location, a wage gap persists between women and men. The gap is worse, on average, for women of color. …
By: Joi Chaney & Noreen Farrell
This blog is being cross-posted on Joi Chaney’s Medium Page, Noreen Farrell’s Medium Page, and the United State of Women’s Forbes Page.
As the nation reflects on the first year since the #MeToo movement went viral, and its broader implications for women’s equality, the story of Janet Aviles comes to mind. Janet worked at a government contractor shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. In her workplace, management directed women to “shake it” as they walked by and laughed at sexually graphic depictions of them by male coworkers. Unsurprisingly, men outnumbered women 16 to 1 in that workplace and management promoted the notion that women should be at “home making dinner” rather than pipefitting. …
For the last week or more since the allegations of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh were made public, the national discourse has focused rightly on the needs of his accusers, who deserve to be heard; on the needs of the Judge, who deserves to defend himself; on the needs of Senators, who have terribly mismanaged this process; and on the needs of the President, who continues to exemplify the failures of leadership. Much to my surprise and relief, we have also used this moment to focus on the needs of survivors, who need to know their accusations will be taken seriously, and inadvertently on perpetrators, who need to know that they will be held accountable for their behavior (at any age, 17–81), whether in a criminal trial, civil proceeding or just professionally. Nevertheless, in all of this, I am starting to wonder: where do Americans at large factor into this conversation? …
Last month, like every black woman — with the means and opportunity to invest in a movie night — I ran, not walked, to the opening of Black Panther. All the reviews are correct; it was a perfect, glorious display of African Diasporic excellence — both what is and what could have been. The latter sentiment left me wistful, and more than a little angry for all that my ancestors endured, all that my community endures, and all that our children are likely to endure for some time to come. Thus, when I arrived in Atlanta, GA last Thursday for the #WearePowerRising Summit — a national policy development, civic engagement, and economic empowerment convening of nearly 1000 African American women, I was ready raise a little hell. What I got instead was the healing my soul needed in times such as these. …
When you applied for your last job, did HR ask how much you were paid previously? When you were pregnant, were you denied a reasonable accommodation? When you learned of the gender wage gap in your office, were you chastised for discussing it? Are you a tipped-worker, not even making minimum wage? Must you endure racism, sexism, and all manner of other intersectional ignorance in the workplace? Are you finding it hard to break into a male-dominated field? Is your boss refusing to meet with you one-on-one because you are a woman?
If so, then you know all too well that Equal Pay Day isn’t just the day the average woman’s earnings catch up to the average man’s earnings from the previous year, it’s the day women — and those who are supported by them — say enough’s enough! …
Like most of you, I’ve spent the last nine days vacillating between immobilizing disbelief, inconsolable grief and uncontrollable anger at the thought of a Trump Presidency, a Trump White House, a Trump Administration, a Trump nomination to the Supreme Court. And just when I thought a week+ of ranting on Facebook, regrouping with colleagues, recharging with girlfriends, and annoying my family was bringing me to the end of this emotional roller-coaster, the announcement that a White nationalist (i.e. supremacist), Steve Bannon has been named White House Chief Strategist, retired Lieutenant General Michael T. …
Query: What would you do with an extra $1 million? Travel around the world? Buy a luxury car? Even an island!? Support your candidate of choice? Invest in your community? What about using it to support yourself and your family? Buying basic necessities like healthy food, health insurance, housing and higher education? Seem like a silly question? Well, it’s not, especially if you are one of the nation’s more than 10 million Latina workers.
This week, millions of Latinas are asking themselves just that: What would I do with an extra $1 million? Latina Equal Pay Day was on Tuesday, November 1 — the day in 2016 when Latina wages finally caught-up to the wages earned by White, non-Hispanic men in 2015. That’s 10 months — nearly a full year — later. Put another way, Latinas must work 22 months to earn what White men earn in 12 months. …
JOI CHANEY | Equal Pay Today! Campaign, A project of the Tides Center
Imagine it is Friday afternoon — payday Friday! The day you look forward to after hard work. The day you know you will be able to care for your children and family. The day you move one step closer to owning a new home. The day you move one step closer to paying off your student loans or a dignified retirement. It’s also the day you stop by the local small business or big box store to shop for what you and your family need (and maybe a little of what you want). …
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