Minimum Wage

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.

What Biden’s State of the Union Means for Women

Biden SOTU

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.

This Women’s History Month, Honor Women by Honoring Caregiving

Caregiving is an essential and difficult profession, yet it is written off as “women’s work” and severely undervalued.

This Women’s History Month, let’s break gender-based economic barriers with the same enthusiasm with which we cheer for women who’ve broken glass ceilings. Let’s demand a federal economic policy that centers women—and honors the work of the unknown women of history whose caregiving labor was ignored and nearly forgotten.

27 Times More Men Than Women Joined the Labor Force Last Month. It’s Time for Systemic Change

Virtually hidden in last week’s job numbers hype was some terrible news for women: 27 times more men than women joined the labor force last month.

As the pandemic (hopefully) continues to wane and jobs come back, we need to look deeper and think long-term about fixes for women that won’t disappear when the next superbug comes along—systemic fixes like establishing a robust care infrastructure, raising the minimum wage, and strengthening workplace protections.

Keeping Score: 49th Roe Anniversary Sees Record Abortion Restrictions; Federal Employees Achieve $15 Minimum Wage; Sotomayor Calls S.B. 8 “Egregious Violation of Constitutional Rights”

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in in this biweekly round-up.

This week: Senate fails to pass landmark voting rights legislation; the 49th (and last?) anniversary of Roe v. Wade; OPM raises minimum wage for federal employees to $15 per hour; Minneapolis City Council elects Andrea Jenkins as its first Black, transgender woman president; D.C. mothers eligible for $900 in monthly assistance; Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is first transgender actor to win a Golden Globe; women patients see significantly better outcomes with female surgeons; and more.