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On average, women are paid eighty cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts. In Virginia, that number is $0.78. It’s not right, and we need to do more to achieve #EqualPay across the country. Let’s start by passing the #PaycheckFairnessAct. #EqualPayDay
Let’s also recognize that this disparity is even greater for women of color. #EqualPayDay for Black women will fall on August 22nd, followed by Native American women on September 23rd, and Latino women on November 20th.
We know that the gender pay gap exists all across the economy, stemming from a number of factors including discrimination, implicit bias, barriers to entry and advancement in certain fields, and the responsibilities of parenting that disproportionately fall to women.
Here's a chart that really drives the point home.
There are two ways to approach this issue: either we accept this inequity as a fact of life, or we look for ways to change it. For my part, I refuse to accept the notion that women should earn eighty cents — or less — on the dollar compared to their average male counterpart.
With a complicated problem, there will not be one easy fix — ideas like making childcare more affordable and reversing long-standing cultural biases should all be part of the solution.
But there’s something that we can do right now to close the wage gap for women all across the country: pass the #PaycheckFairnessAct.
