(ThySistas.com) “In 1963, when the Equal Pay Act was passed, full-time working women were paid 59 cents on average for every dollar paid to men. This means it took 44 years for the wage gap to close just 18 cents – a rate of less than half a penny a year. This narrowing of the gap has slowed substantially since the century (Women Deserve Equal Pay, n.d.).”
Women are still, not receiving equal pay, regardless of their race. On social media recently, there was a short video of Oprah Winfrey surfacing explaining in an interview about when she was first hired in television, paid about 20,000+ in her salary, her male counterpart who was doing the exact same job as her, received more pay. At
that time her boss, told her that she didn’t deserve equal pay as her counterpart because she didn’t have the same expenses as him: a family, a house mortgage, etc. I’d like to add here that back then, an African American woman in the workforce, wasn’t expected to earn as much as her white male counterpart, regardless of her job performance.
Most women over the years, have evolved from their traditional jobs as social workers, teachers and nurses to more careers as entrepreneurs and CEO’s of major companies and industries, and yet they still do not have equal pay as men. Technology has allowed more women to earn degrees in fields such as engineering and science. Even with their degrees, a man with a high school diploma will more than likely earn the same amount, as a woman with a degree.
Mothers who return to work after paid or unpaid maternity leave, are often treated differently from their male colleagues or superiors. Mothers work hard on and off the clock as they are usually the primary caregiver in the household. Mothers are penalized for taking off work to care for a sick child, through unpaid absences. Why is that? If a man who is a father takes off for a sick child or takes his child on vacation, his earned income is not altered because he receives sick and annual paid leave.
Women in television and film, also experience getting paid less than men who are not in lead roles. The lead actresses from House of Cards and Grace and Frankie were not paid what they deserved as leads compared to their male co-stars. “Black Women’s Equal Pay Day” on Twitter, had celebrities such as Issa Rae, Laverne Cox, Tracee Ellis Ross and so on, showing off their tee’s that stated “Phenomenal Woman.” Women work twice as hard as men and still are underpaid no matter what industry they are in.
Today, women earn 82 cents for every dollar men earn. Former President, Barack Obama stated that, “It’s an embarrassment….. when women succeed, America succeeds. There should be equal pay for all women no matter their race. For centuries, women have been the backbones to a lot of successful men and are not justly compensated for their work. Excuses that we often hear are that men work more hours than women (which is not true) and men don’t take off as many days as women (another, not true). It is up to us women to make our voices heard loud and clear, in order to receive equal pay as men, and there should be no negotiating about it!
Staff Writer; Felicia T. Simpson
One may also connect with this sister online over at; FTSimpson.com.