Many people are already aware of the existing wage gap between men and women. However, the pay of an individual can vary depending on both their gender and their skin colour. Pay gaps based on discriminatory ideas are not professional and need to stop.
Why does this day exist?
The wage gap between white women and white men is already significant. But people always seem to forget that women of colour get paid even less. For every $1 that a non-Hispanic white man makes, a Black woman will make $0.63. Over the course of a 40 year career, a Black woman will lose around $900 000. This also means that a Black woman has to work 214 more days to make what a white man makes in 365 days.
Why is this a problem?
Black women are constantly pushed down and receive less advantages than white men both everyday and systemically. The untrue stereotype that Black women are “lazy and stupid” is only encouraged by the fact that society gives them less opportunities than others. No one should have to work for less money than someone else when doing the same work. The cost of living is the same, so why give one person less money?
This is not the only workplace racism that takes place every day. Black women are constantly told that they cannot wear their natural hair or stared at for wearing it. Additionally, Black women may not receive the same amount of respect in the workplace due to their gender and/or skin colour.
How can we help to eliminate this?
To help eliminate the wage gap, corporations should start using inclusive hiring practices for their employees. Furthermore, companies should adopt pay transparency, which would pay everyone the same regardless of skin colour, gender, sexuality, etc. Although not everyone is a CEO who can incorporate these into a company, there are still things that everyone can do to help. To start off, educating anyone and everyone that you know about these issues is an excellent first step. When people are educated, a racial bias will be less and less present in their lives. In addition, sharing information about these injustices, signing petitions and going to protests to make closing the wage gap a human rights priority are incredible actions.
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