Tag: Minimum Wage

Women’s Work Is the Backbone of the U.S. Economy

We don’t say, “Behind every great man is a great woman” anymore, because women aren’t standing behind men anymore; we are care workers and caregivers leading the way to making the investments in our shared care infrastructure that we all need. Paid parental leave, higher wages for care workers, a domestic workers’ bill of rights, pay transparency and equal pay for equal work are just a few of the solutions that are long overdue.

(This essay is part of The Majority Rules project—an artful essay and op-ed series from Ms. and Supermajority Education Fund.)

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.

Millions of Women Would Benefit From a Minimum Wage Hike—Far More than Men

The parade of Equal Pay Days kicked off recently. The dates mark wage gaps for all women, Black women, Latina women—each one more disheartening than the last. According to the latest data, in most states, over 50 percent of women of color earn earn less than $15, and in some states, it soars to 70 percent. 

The solution to closing these gender and racial wage gaps is simple: Raise the federal minimum wage. So why is the Senate blocking the Raise the Wage Act, a piece of legislation that would have a transformative impact on wages and well-being of people in this country? 

Is It 2157 Yet? How Businesses and Policymakers Can Accelerate the Timeline for Equal Pay

At our current pace, we won’t close the wage gap between men and women until 2157—nearly 136 years from now, with 36 of those added to make up for pandemic setbacks. We can’t hand off this injustice to our great-great granddaughters. So how can public policymakers, philanthropy and private businesses come together to accelerate the process?

There are solutions for narrowing the wage gap between men and women—let’s start by raising the federal minimum wage to $15; providing paid leave to all employees; and changing hiring practices.

Biden SOTU

What Biden’s State of the Union Means for Women

Biden’s demands to create a more equitable economy for women, which reflect decades of activism and leadership on the part of racial and gender justice advocates, aren’t simply bullet points on a progressive wish list. They aren’t “nice-to-haves.” They are fundamental building blocks of an economy and society that values women and families, which explains why the United States doesn’t have them.