A Healthy Dose of DEI: Equal Pay Day and St Patrick's Day
Recognizing Equal Pay Day 2023
Equal Pay Day represents the number of months and days into the new year women must work to make the same amount of money a white man made in the previous calendar year.
Equal Pay Day 2023 is on March 14, one week earlier than last year. This means that women work 14 months and 14 days to earn the same amount of money a white man made in 12 months. This is with all things being equal, such as education, experience, job role, etc. This means that men and women, doing the same job are experiencing a pay gap that can't be explained by merit.
Year over year, the pay gap has gotten incrementally smaller, yet there's still a ways to go. For every dollar a white man makes women make 84 cents for every $1 a white man makes. But, we can't stop there! We have to think about the various intersections of women AND... Black women make 67 cents for every dollar a white man makes. Moms make 74 cents; LGBTQIA+ women make 79 cents; Latinas make 57 cents; Native women make 57 cents; and Asian American women make 92 cents for every dollar a white man makes.
As of 2022, how we calculate Equal Pay Day has changed. Part time and seasonal work is now included in the calculation for women's pay. COVID pushed many women into part time or seasonal work, especially mothers whose children were schooling from home or whose daycares closed. This new calculation includes the reality of more women and accurately describes the state of women today.
Mark your calendar for the following Equal Pay Days in 2023:
LGBTQIA+ Equal Pay Awareness Day is June 15. Unfortunately, there's not enough data available to know exactly how much of a wage gap exists for this community. The small amount of data shows a pay gap, but there's not enough to generalize to the entire community.
Black Women's Equal Pay Day is July 27
Moms' Equal pay Day is August 15
Latina's Equal Pay Day is October 5
Native Women's Equal Pay Day is November 30
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Women's Equal Pay Day is April 5
The pay gap matters because women have less to contribute towards retirement. Because women tend to live longer than men, women need more money in retirement. Women have less income to pay down student loan debt, contribute to child care, pay medical expenses, and other everyday expenses.
Here's what you can do:
Conduct a pay gap analysis to determine fi a pay gap exists within your organization. Note: No organization is immune to a pay gap! My favorite example of this is with Salesforce. A few years ago Salesforce was recognized as the Best Place to Work. Shortly after winning this award, the HR Manager conducted a pay gap audit and took the results to the CEO. Surprise! There was a significant pay gap! The CEO couldn't believe it because they are the Best Place to Work. In short, if it can happen to the Best Place to Work, it can also happen to your organization!
Look at the demographics of the people in each position within the organization. How many men/women/Black/white/Hispanic/Asian American/etc. people are at each level of the organization?
Compare the pay of each person and group. How does the pay of women at the director level compare to men at the director level? Are women of color compensated equally compared to white women?
Read. Watch. Listen
Resources to Learn More!
Equal Pay Day 2023: Attacking the Gender Pay Gap
Ford Harrison
"The first Equal Pay Day observance in the United States was organized in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity to raise awareness of the wage gap and its impact on women. Equal Pay Day marks the point when the average woman’s current earnings, combined with what she earned in the previous year, equals what the average man was paid last year. This year, Equal Pay Day will be recognized on March 14, 2023.
The unadjusted gender wage gap in the United States is holding steady at approximately 83 cents. While women’s participation in the workforce has returned to pre-pandemic levels, the Center found that women’s earnings, across age groups, continue to lag behind that of their male counterparts. The pay differential remains greater for women of color."
Equal Pay Day Calendar
"In 2022, the coalition made a new change to the methodology: The Equal Pay Day Calendar now encompasses a broader cross-section of women, including those who work part time or seasonally, to represent a more accurate picture of how the gender pay gap impacts diverse communities The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many women, especially women of color, into part-time or seasonal work, or out of the workforce all together. Because of this, past methods of calculating the wage gap fell short of accurately capturing the full picture. With the new inclusive methodology, we can advocate on behalf of all women in the workforce."