By Melanie Campbell and Cassandra Welchlin ·Updated July 27, 2023
This year, Black Women’s Equal Pay Day falls between the 60th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act and the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington. These two milestones symbolize the ongoing struggle of Black women at the intersection of race and gender.
Today, a Black woman who works full-time will make 67 cents on the dollar compared to a typical White, non-Hispanic man. Amid this harsh reality, Southern Black women face an even steeper hill, with many earning below 60 cents. In Mississippi for example, Black women earn only 57 cents for full time work and 51 cents when part-time work is factored in.
That wage gap, amounting to at least 33 cents on the dollar, adds up significantly over time—month after month, year after year, and throughout our lifetimes.
If we received fair pay, we wouldn’t need to work until age 91 to match the lifetime earnings of a white male who retired at 65—a staggering gap worth millions.
Full-time Black women workers, regardless of education, lose over $22,000 each year to this disparity. When including part-time workers, the losses are even higher. The loss is especially significant for mothers who are primary or co-breadwinners for their families: these lost wages could cover nine months of groceries, eight months of childcare, and six months of rent annually.
If we received fair pay, we wouldn’t need to work until age 91 to match the lifetime earnings of a white male who retired at 65—a staggering gap worth millions. Closing this wage gap is crucial. It has the power to transform our careers, potentially saving us close to a million dollars over a 40-year working life—funds that could be invested in education, homeownership, or even her own funeral arrangements, a concern many Black women have expressed to avoid financial burdens on their families after their passing.
Needless to say, for Black women to have to live with this sort of fear and concern after working hard their whole lives is not right! While we often celebrate the resourcefulness and resilience of our sisters throughout the nation and in the South, that alone is not a cure-all solution. As we recognize these anniversaries, we must also ask: what is the path towards economic justice and equal pay for Black women?
The aftermath of the recent Supreme Court’s decision to dismantle affirmative action has sent shockwaves through our communities and highlights the dire need for a recommitment to equity.
Those lost wages are resources that could otherwise support families, fuel small businesses, pay off student loans, and plan for retirement. The disparity stretches across occupations and regions, but a consistent thread remains: Black women earn significantly less. It underscores an intersectional problem necessitating intersectional solutions and reminds us that this problem is baked into our economic system.
As part of a broad coalition of women’s groups, we are seeking a whole of society approach to addressing this issue. Our goal is to convene government, non-profit, corporate, and community leaders to form a Task Force on the Gender Wage Gap for Women of Color. To break free of the systemic disparities, we need to develop public-private strategies that directly address the employment and economic challenges faced by Black women, which is all the more urgent in today’s political climate.
Our coalition of Black women-led organizations are advocating for a clear, comprehensive agenda for Black women in the workplace and economy that asks lawmakers to:
Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act: This legislation will hold employers accountable and enable employees to challenge pay discrimination more effectively.Institute Paid Family and Medical Leave: No woman should have to choose between her paycheck and caring for herself or a loved one.Advocacy: Insist that federal, state and local government leaders ensure Black women reap the benefits of the infrastructure, manufacturing, and environmental resources that the Biden-Harris Administration made possible.Raise the Minimum Wage and Phase Out all Sub-minimum Wages for Tipped Workers: A human right, a livable minimum wage will notably benefit Black women, who are disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs.Invest in Good Jobs Training: We must advance career progression for Black women by investing in training programs for better-paying jobs.Boost Entrepreneurship Investments: Black women are among the fastest-growing entrepreneurs. Let’s cultivate this growth with dedicated investments through targeted investments in the communities we live.Enhance Data Collection: Better data will lead to better policies. We need robust research to understand the root causes of the gender and race wage gap and develop effective solutions.Implementing this agenda requires commitment from all stakeholders: the White House, Congress, corporate America, and philanthropy. By doing so, we can begin to dismantle the barriers holding down our wages.
The landmark Supreme Court decision underlines the urgency of this endeavor. We must challenge the detrimental impacts of the Affirmative Action ruling on Black women, particularly those in the South, and demand fairer, more equitable working conditions.
In the words of Maya Angelou, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” The resilience of our community is its lifeblood, driving our ongoing fight for economic justice in southern states and elsewhere in the country.. With this determination at our core, we’ll continue to confront these disparities head-on, not only acknowledging them but also advocating for the systemic change needed to rectify them.
The road may be steep, but Southern Black women have weathered storms before. As we navigate these troubled waters, we remember the civil rights leaders who marched on Washington 60 years ago. They imagined a future of equality and justice, a vision we are duty-bound to realize.
This Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, let us not only honor our resilience– let us pledge to transform our realities. We are strong, we are resilient, and together, we can surmount any challenge. Let’s turn this moment of controversy into an era of change.
Melanie Campbell is the President & CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable. She known for being one of the hardest working women in the civil rights, women’s rights and social justice movement.
Cassandra Welchlin is the executive director of the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable. She is an award-winning community organizer, social justice activist and licensed social worker who advocates for equal pay, affordable childcare and health care in Mississippi and throughout the South.
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