USA Today: Black women reach equal pay - seven months late
Washington, DC,
July 31, 2017
USA Today -Black women in the workforce hit a dubious milestone on Monday, finally earning as much over 19 months as their white male peers had in a single year.
By Charisse Jones Black women in the workforce hit a dubious milestone on Monday, finally earning as much over 19 months as their white male peers had in a single year. With black women who have a full time job earning 63 cents on average for every dollar pocketed by a man, Black Women’s Equal Pay Day marks the point on the calendar when their pay catches up - nearly eight months later. Women in general are out earned by men, taking home 80 cents for every dollar paid to male colleagues, according to the National Organization for Women's website. Based on that disparity, Equal Pay Day, which occurred on April 4, noted the extra four months it took women on average to reap what men had in a year. But Monday's focus on black women spotlights how racial bias can intersect with sexism to drive pay even lower. Rep. Gwen Moore, (D-Wisconsin) was among the lawmakers and celebrities who took to Twitter to call for an end to the gap. “Where men see $10, #BlackWomen see $6.30,’’ Moore wrote. “Yeah, you read that right. We need to close the gender/racial #PayGap now! “It’s long past time we make equal pay for equal work a reality,’’ tweeted Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon). “We must close the racial and gender #paygap. Actress Viola Davis said in a tweet that "black women are the cornerstone of our communities. They are phenomenal and they deserve equal pay.'' “I had talent, I worked like crazy and I was lucky enough to break through,’’ she wrote. “But today isn’t about me. It’s about the other 24 million black women in America. If I never picked up a tennis racket, I would be one of them; that is never lost on me.” It will take other groups of women even longer to catch up to their male colleagues. According to the National Organization for Women’s website, Native American women who earn 59 cents for every dollar paid to a man, will reach parity Sept. 25. And it will take Latina women, who typically pocket 54 cents for every dollar earned by a man, nearly two years to make what a male colleague did in 12 months. |
