Tuesday, August 3, is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day—the day in 2021 when the average Black woman working full-time year-round finally catches up to what the average non-Hispanic white man earned in 2020. In other words, it takes Black women eight extra months on average to earn what white, non-Hispanic men earn.
For every dollar paid to white men, Black women are paid just 63 cents.
“While the wage gap continues to impact women of all backgrounds, gender discrimination intersects with racial discrimination to shape Black women’s experiences in the workplace and erode their wages further,” wrote Betsy Butler for Ms.
According to a survey conducted by Time’s Up, only 17 percent of working Black women are sure that their employer pays men and women equally, and, 55 percent of Black women surveyed have faced gender or racial discrimination or related obstacles to higher-paying jobs.
While progress is being made, it is not happening fast enough. At the current rate, Black women will not earn what white men do for another 100 years.
Other 2021 Equal Pay Days
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day is March 9. Asian American and Pacific Islander women are paid 85 cents for every dollar paid to white men. (Within AAPI communities, there are wide disparities between women of different ethnic backgrounds. Burmese women are making as little as 52 cents, while Taiwanese women earn $1.21 compared to a $1 white men earn. That creates a wide chasm that lands AAPI women as a group on the 85 cent figure. And it fails to account for the differences in the kinds of jobs Asian women perform.)
- All Women’s Equal Pay Day is March 24. Women working full time and year round are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to a man who works full time and year round.
- Mother’s Equal Pay Day is May 5. Mothers are paid 70 cents for every dollar paid to fathers.
- Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is August 3. Black women are paid 63 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
- Native American Women’s Equal Pay Day is September 8. Native women are paid 60 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
- Latina’s Equal Pay Day is October 21. Latinas are paid 55 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
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