Equal Pay Day: Here’s what I want you to do today to help
When women and men get to the end of the year, in aggregate they should be able to look back and have earned about the same amount in their paychecks.
But as we know all too well, that isn’t the case: Women have to work on average more than three additional months into the following year to reach men’s annual salaries. That’s why today, April 2, marks Equal Pay Day.
And this year, I have a challenge for you. On this Equal Pay Day, I want you to choose a woman you know and take action to show her she has value.
How you’ll do that is individual to you and to her, but there are so many ways to highlight a woman’s worth. Express to your colleague how impressed you were with her big presentation. Tell your cousin with identical twin toddlers what a wonderful mother she is. Celebrate your grandmother for her tireless dedication to her community.
And if you’re in a position of leadership, I want you to go a step further and invest in a woman. Give her a job or a raise. Assign her to that exciting new project. Mentor her and take an interest in her success.
I can tell you it not only feels wonderful to support a woman, but it can help you on your own journey as well. I’ve certainly found it easier to know my own value after helping other women to do so for themselves.
I want to hear your stories about how you responded to this challenge. And to get you started I’ll share one of my own.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about equal pay and how it applies to younger women just starting their careers. That’s because I’m about to release a book about this topic called Earn It: Know Your Value and Grow Your Career, in Your 20s and Beyond, which comes out May 7.
I co-wrote "Earn It" with my much younger colleague Daniela Pierre Bravo. In the book Daniela shares her amazing story of coming from small-town Ohio to her big-time job as a booking producer on "Morning Joe" in New York City. The path to "Earn It" began three years ago, when Daniela came to me with a pitch for a small project she wanted to launch for women who didn’t have access to big-city opportunities.
I loved hearing about Daniela’s own story, which made it clear she had grit, savvy and guts. So I said, “That sounds like a book! And now I’m investing in you to co-write this book with me.”
That’s how I invested in Daniela, and I’m looking forward to sharing my additional stories and hearing about your own. So send me your stories at KnowYourValue@nbcuni.com.
Let’s take advantage of Equal Pay Day as our annual reminder that women make only about 80 cents to a man’s dollar. Sadly, at the rate we’re going, it will take nearly 41 years — until 2059 — to achieve parity. For Hispanic women it won’t happen until 2224, and for black women, it’s 2119.
If we want to change it, we need to stand together not only for all women in the workplace today, but for the next generation. Start by supporting a woman in your life and helping her to know her value — and don’t forget to share your stories with us.
Follow our Know Your Value LinkedIn page for more content!
Building Families Everyday * Educator, Consult, Empower, Produce Young Entrepreneurs, alleviate oppression, poverty, in disenfranchise communities
4yI Love You Mika, your words of confidence are awesome.
Prosperity Coalition LLC @ gmail.com
5yDear Mika, I could write for an hour in response to minimum wage and gender bias. Then there is racial and/or ethnic bias! As to minimum wage, there can not be one for the country. to do minimum wage properly we need to discover the cost of a one bedroom apartment within 1 hour of the employer and add $200/week for food, clothing, medical, etc. As soon as women were allowed to work outside the home, the wages were low because it was assumed they would marry and the husband would be the real bread winner. After WWII women lost jobs because the men were now home. Several women did not have a returning hero. Their husband was killed in the battles and/or returned so traumatized that they were basically unemployable. Fairness of everything means fairness from big employers. Most of the owners of big business are GOP and we now have a USA President elected by people who just wanted low interest rates coupled with lower taxes. Unless the GOP accepts 50% responsibility for the overall condition of the USA and allows for FREE & un-meddled voting...there is no hope for Peace on Earth by 2027. Love & Peace, Deborah PS I watch you & Joe every morning.
Bringing history to life through art and guided tours
5yAnother issue which sometimes isn't addressed is entire professions sidelined and/or devalued...usually performed by women. Caregiving of children, the elderly and the disabled; social work, teaching... to name a few.
Accountant at Inbox Business Technologies
5yYes good
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5yFrom my personal experience, both in the state service and public sector, I haven't seen gender segregation coming into play in payment by employers of labour. In many establishments, the salary for the different posts is known (as seen in the salary structure), whether it is a man or a lady that is occupying a given position or is just being considered for it. There isn't even room for gender segregation since the job description is not 'gender-sensitive' . Difference in salary is rather based on the academic qualifications, skills, experience and, at times, the 'desperation' of the organisation to hire that individual. This may be to come and salvage the organisation. The opportunity gap should not be seen as a deliberate attempt by whosoever to marginalize the women. No!