"Today, women still make only 77 cents to every man's dollar, and the pay gap is even wider for women of color. Over her lifetime, the average American woman can expect to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to the earnings gap, a significant blow to both women and their families. In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, we must use all of America's talent to its fullest potential -- because when women succeed, America succeeds."
~President Obama, Presidential Proclamation -- National Equal Pay Day, 2014
This morning, President Obama issued a Proclamation on National Equal Pay Day. This week, he planned two new executive actions to promote equal pay for women. So,w
hat is National Equal Pay Day? According to Linda Hallman from the Huffington Post, Equal Pay Day is "the symbolic day when women's earnings finally catch up to men's earnings from the previous year" ("7 Things to Know this Equal Pay Day"). This means that a women would have had to work all 12 months of 2013 and these first three months of 2014 to make what a white male would have made in just the 12 months of 2013.
To understand how this is measured, there are a couple things to keep in mind:
- The standard is judged by white males, because they comprise the majority of the workforce, and as a demographic, they overall make the most.
- The pay gap does not compare individuals in similar positions. It looks at overall earnings for demographic groups. For example, while a first year male teacher and female teacher in a school district would make the same amount, in the district overall, men as a group would on average make more than women because there are more male principals and men in high-paying leadership positions.
- Due to historical, social, and political inequities, the pay gap is even larger for African American and Hispanic women. Take a look at the info graphic below.
