Tag: Pay Gap

Abigail Disney Is Deconstructing and Rebuilding the American Dream

Some employees of the “happiest place on Earth” can barely afford housing and food, while the CEO makes an annual salary in the multi-millions.

“Without collective bargaining, in some form, whether it’s unions or some other para-union type organizations, we all live at the mercy of Jeff Bezos, we all live at the mercy of Bob Iger. Is that really the society you want to live in?” Abigail Disney told Ms., ahead of her new documentary, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, out in select theaters and on streaming Sept. 23, 2022.

Black Women and Their Labor Are Still Underpaid and Undervalued

For every dollar a white man makes, a Black woman earns 63 cents.

Along with severe wage inequality, Black women continue to be disproportionately overrepresented in low-paying, service-oriented jobs. More than one-third of the essential workers—many of them the people who have powered our country throughout the pandemic—are Black women. COVID-19, inflation and stagnant wages have laid bare how necessary it is for our elected representatives to act by voting to increase the minimum wage and creating a robust paid family and medical leave package accessible to all.

Biden Just Canceled Significant Amounts of Your Student Loan Debt. Here’s How to Claim It

The Biden administration announced it would cancel significant amounts of student debt for millions of Americans, marking the largest discharge of education debt in U.S. history. Under the new plan, individual student loan borrowers earning under $125,000 per year (or $250,000 for households) qualify for up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness. Recipients of Pell Grants are eligible for an additional $10,000 in forgiveness.

Student loan debtors are disproportionately women, who hold about two-thirds of student loan debt—yet earn just 74 percent of what men graduates earn. Black students are also disproportionately plagued by student loan debt: More than 70 percent of Black students go into debt, compared to 56 percent of white students.

A Federal Guaranteed Income Policy Could End Generational Cycles of Poverty

Students in majority-Black schools are on average 12 months behind their peers in majority-white schools, due in large part to COVID-19 disruptions. This widening education gap is a devastating sign that many Black children will continue to be marginalized by structural racism and classism throughout their lives.

Guaranteed income is one way to reduce some of the structural barriers low-income children face. Unrestricted payments allow parents to prioritize their specific needs and can open up a wide range of new opportunities.

War on Women Report: States Come for Abortion Care; 10 Anti-LGBTQ Bills; ‘Freedom’ Is Hypocrisy

U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back.

This week: State courts come for abortion care services and close crucial clinics; Biden signs an executive order aimed at protecting abortion rights; six states pass anti-LGBTQ bills one day after Pride Month; and more.

Caring Work and Its Discontents

The basic problem in many fields today, including politics, is the discounting of so-called feminine skills we all count on—but generally fail to acknowledge by anything more than annual flowers and apples. Both nurses and teachers of any gender are paid as little money as possible, and command too few resources for taking care of their tasks. Because they care, this matters.

The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Just Won Equal Pay—Cue the Misogynist Backlash

The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team announced a deal that guarantees women and men who play for the national teams will receive the same compensation opportunities. While feminists and USWNT fans celebrated the decision, not unexpectedly, misogynists came roaring back with cries of “Unfair!” “Wokeness!” “Biology!”

It seems a number of men on the internet are outraged by the very suggestion that women athletes might be deserving of equal pay.

The ‘Cure’ for Mom Guilt? Affordable Childcare, Paid Family Leave and Equal Pay

Rather than flowers that wilt, what most mothers really want is underlying systemic change that benefits not just them, but their entire family system. Reshma Saujani’s initiative, Marshall Plan for Moms, a campaign of her nonprofit Girls Who Code, has set out to do just that.

“‘Mom guilt’ is the natural result of two totally unattainable societal ideals clashing: the perfect mom and ideal worker.”