Bella Breakdown
Today marks a monumental day during Women’s History Month bringing awareness to the gender pay gap for national Equal Pay Day. This national holiday hopes to bridge the gender pay gap with women’s annual earnings were 82.3 percent compared to male counterparts according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Women in the U.S. on average make 82 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the U.S. working the same amount of time and share identical work roles. While men are paid for a full 9-5 position, women in similar positions are technically working for free at 2:40 p.m. considering the pay gap.
"Since my first teaching job, we’ve made progress in many ways—but I don’t want my granddaughters having to fight this same battle. I don’t want them to worry about getting paid less solely based on their gender." @FLOTUS @DrBiden's #EqualPayDay speech: https://t.co/GOrQ1FHbQY
— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) March 24, 2021
The gender pay gap is a long-standing issue in nearly every industry and will be highlighted this year during Women’s History Month with the hopes of bridging this gender pay gap. Women have to work well into 2021 to make the same amount of money as their male counterparts for 2020.
On average women will have to work until March 9 to compensate for the gender pay gap of the previous year and the figures increase for minority groups. Women of minority demographics including working mothers have to work until June 4, Black women have to work until August 3, Native American women have to work until September 8, and Latina women have to work until October 21 to catch up financially with their male counterparts. Transgender women also experience nearly one-third loss of their pay after their transition.
World Cup winner @mPinoe addresses the House Committee on #EqualPayDay pic.twitter.com/cYhxreM9LI
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 24, 2021
The fight for closing the gender pay gap was interrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic with the Center for American Progress reports nearly 5.4 million women lost their jobs during the pandemic. Women experience 1 million more job losses compared to men with 2.3 million women choosing to stay home to accommodate having children at home full time and adjusting to remote-learning.
Women’s History Month for 2021 will highlight the gender pay gap in a new light and bring awareness to this continuing issue that has great importance in 2021. Women are encouraged to hold themselves accountable for breaking barriers and advocate for women employees within your organization.
