"The most disrespected person in America is the black woman," were wise words spoken by the brilliant Malcolm X nearly six decades ago. Today, in 2018, his words unfortunately still ring true. More specifically, black women are financially and professionally disrespected in the workplace and have been for years. August 7 marks Black Women's Equal Pay Day to acknowledge just how far we have to go in providing black women the full compensation they deserve.
While women have always been fighting for equal wages at work, black women (per usual) have to fight twice as hard. Here are five facts you need to know about Black Women's Equal Pay Day.
1. Black women are paid 63 cents for every dollar white, non-Hispanic men receive.
In 1967, a Black woman working full-time per year typically made only 43 cents for every dollar paid to white men. By 2015, this gap had narrowed by 20 cents, but Black women would have to work until August 2018 to receive what the typical white man earned at the end of December 2017. That's more than a six-month period. SMH.
2. Unequal pay was the law in America for years.
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers in many states were legally allowed, and required by some, to discriminate because of race, sex, religion and national origin. Although the law prohibits discriminatory practices in the workplace, plenty of discrimination remains. A report by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America shows employers give white job applicants 36 percent more callbacks for a job interview than equally qualified Black applicants.
3. Black mothers tend to bring home the bacon.
The National Partnership For Women & Families reports 80 percent of black mothers earn the highest income in their households.
4. Where Black women make up the majority of the workforce, they receive less pay.
5. The struggle isn't as widely known as it should be.
A survey from Survey Monkey, Lean In and The National Urban League reports half of Americans are aloof when it comes to the financial disparities between Black women and white men.
With these facts in mind, Equal Pay Day Today assembled a toolkit to obtain everything you need to participate in the fight for Black women's equal pay.
