Equal Pay Day 2021 is different than the rest due to the impact of COVID-19. Throughout history, Black Women have faced inequalities that affect not only them but their families. Necessities like a roof over their head are things that Black women struggle with. It all comes down to the cut in their pay. Now more than ever, these inequalities affect them more than any other race of women. Last year, half of the Black women have struggled to pay for necessities like rent and have less than $300 in savings to fall back on in an emergency. Before Covid-19, about a third of Black women had less than $300 to fall back on in an emergency. Now, those numbers have jumped to 50% of Black women.
It’s no secret, Black women are paid less than white men and women, overrepresented in low-wage jobs, less likely to have access to benefits, and more likely to be denied home loans. With all of this, how are Black women supposed to survive?
These are systemic problems, and they require systemic solutions. It is up to corporations, government agencies, and even small business owners to close the gender and racial pay gaps. Additionally, help from the federal government will be needed. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 and has not changed since 2009. In the past 12 years, prices have risen for food, gas, and necessities. Currently, the push for $15 an hour is being discussed which would make childcare more accessible and affordable and provide national paid family leave. This directly affects Black women because they are much more likely than white women and men to have hourly jobs—and among employees with hourly jobs, Black women are 2.5 times as likely as white men to make less than $15 per hour.
Despite federal standards for wages, Black women still earn just 63 cents for every dollar a white man earns – leaving Black women making a median of $24,110 less each year because of the wage gap. Many Black women are struggling to cover basic expenses 51% of Black women have had trouble paying for food, housing, or childcare in the past year. Black women are twice as likely as white men to say they’ve struggled to afford these necessities for their families. Black women are more than twice as likely as white men to say that the pandemic has had a “devastating” impact on their finances. More than 20% of Black women feel this way, compared to just 9% of white men and 12% of white women.
Let’s keep fighting to close the gender gap for Black women, and for what we deserve.
Here are some related articles for Women Pay Gap:
https://leanin.org/equal-pay-data-about-the-gender-pay-gap
https://www.aauw.org/resources/article/black-women-and-the-pay-gap/
