Research from BLS 2014
Today, April 4, 2017 is EQUAL PAY DAY.
What is Equal Pay Day, you ask? It is a day where we as employees, employers, advocates, policy makers and concerned citizens can focus our attention on the wage gap that exists between white men and pretty much everyone else who works.
The wage gap has very real consequences for women and people of color for what they earn for equal work compared to men.
Want some concrete tips on what you can do to personally make a change for yourself, or others, today?
Negotiate
The system has a pay imbalance built into it. Women are promoted less, paid less and given fewer opportunities. Don't wait for someone to take care of it for you. Negotiate for yourself for a new salary, for a new role, for a total, a promotion, whatever you need. Here's a great article from Entrepreneur today with some good tips. Contact us to talk about your own negotiation or bringing us into your company to teach important negotiation skills to your women.
Be an ally
Whether you are in management or aspire to be in management - see something, say something. If you have a co-worker who is doing a great job, go out of your way to let her and her boss know about it. If you see a co-worker not being heard, amplify her voice. More voices together are powerful. Vocal allies can often say something for or about us that we can't say about each other. Read about the Women of the Obama White House who amplified each other's voices in meetings:
Support businesses who support this cause
More than 300 businesses are offering a 20% discount today as a protest #20PercentCounts. See the full list here at LeanIn.org. And that isn't limited to retailers. Last year Salesforce spent 3 Million to close the gap between what women and men make.
Need more tips? (as if we aren't busy enough?!?)
Here are 10 things HuffPo says you can do to dismantle the wage gap.