It’s not hyperbolic to say that for Black women, unequal pay is a health concern. It’s about the stress of being able to afford today’s expenses when you’re already facing the cumulative overwhelm of racial disparities in every area of life. That is true across multiple fronts for Black women, who are either sole or equal contributors to their household income. Unequal pay is much bigger than Black households being able to accumulate wealth and afford future expenses. We must also consider how failure to acknowledge this history normalizes Black suffering and suggests that Black poverty is a choice. It’s an intentional consequence of systemic violence in labor, hiring, and wage discrimination, impacting Black households’ wealth and earning potential for centuries. Black exclusion from money conversations isn’t an oversight. We’re unprepared to have impactful conversations about Black identity and pay because of the multigenerational failure to acknowledge how the legacy of racism impacts the present. Why is it necessary to capitalize the BLACK when discussing women’s Equal pay? And in a world where “average” is too often a point of reference that prioritizes whiteness, Black Women’s Equal Pay Day offers an opportunity to explore why a racial breakdown is necessary.Ĭreating a world where all can thrive means acknowledging how dual marginalization, the wealth gap, the cost and access of education, and occupational segregation have cost Black women tens of thousands of dollars each year. This awareness campaign has been highly successful at helping folks discuss the gender pay gap.īut what’s rarely communicated is that the 82 cents figure for women is an “average” that’s well above what most women of color receive. Black women are already concentrated in low-paying industries, and coming in and out of the workforce can make it harder for them to negotiate pay.Each year in early spring, PSA’s, fanfare, and social media graphics inform us March 24 marks the end of the 15-month timeframe it took for women’s pay to catch up to men. Vasu Reddy, senior policy counsel for workplace programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families, said that could make a long-term problem worse. That may force some women to leave the workforce. “Now that we’re in a physical-distancing situation, the support system that Black women might normally get, that’s gone away for many people,” Creary said. That used to mean they relied on networks of friends and family to care for their children. In many cases, said Wharton professor Stephanie Creary, Black women are the primary caregiver and breadwinner. The unemployment rate among them is 13.5% - that’s higher than the overall rate.ĬOVID-19 is making lack of child care a bigger problem, too. And Black women have been hit hardest by job losses. “In times of crisis, we definitely see that existing patterns of inequality become more pronounced,” said Beth Humberd, a business professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.ĭuring the pandemic, industries where women tend to work are being hit harder. The reason Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is so late in the year is because a Black woman before the pandemic made 62 cents for every dollar a white man made. Thursday is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day - the day in the year when the average Black woman finally earns what a white man made the previous year. The pay gap for Black women has persisted for years.
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