National Equal Pay Day ― Date, History, and Details
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Let's dive deeper into learning more about the history of National Equal Pay Day and why people celebrate or observe it.
History of National Equal Pay Day and How to Celebrate/ Observe It
National Equal Pay Day is an annual event that takes place on the last Tuesday of April in the United States. The day is meant to symbolize how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned the previous year.
The gender pay gap is the difference between what men and women are paid for doing the same job. In the United States, women are paid an average of 79 cents for every dollar a man earns. This means that, on average, a woman has to work about 80 percent as long as a man to earn the same amount of money.
The gender pay gap is even larger for women of color. African American women are paid an average of 63 cents for every dollar a white man earns, while Hispanic women are paid an average of 54 cents.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the gender pay gap, including discrimination, the prevalence of women in certain sectors of the workforce, and the fact that women are more likely to take time off from work to care for children or other family members.
Despite the progress that has been made in recent years, the gender pay gap persists. This is why National Equal Pay Day is so important – it serves as a reminder that there is still work to be done in order to achieve true equality.