Today is Equal Pay day. This date represents the number of extra days it takes a women to earn the same amount a man earned in the previous year. On average, women are paid just 79 cents on the dollar, with a projection, that as it trends, won’t lead to equality until 2058. That’s 42 years to go before we close the gap!
Why should we care?
The simple answer is, when one wins, we all win. Women occupy over 50% of the minimum wage jobs. Equal pay would contribute to a 2.9% increase in our GDP and reduce our poverty rate to 3.9% (half of what it is currently).
We can wait for the government to put policies into place, or we can do our part now.
- Assess your practices and conduct a pay audit. Are women being paid the same as their male counterparts? Are they being afforded the same opportunities? The Department of Labor offers some tips for evaluating.
- Offer equivalent paid leave benefits to men and women. Minimizing the stereotype that women are the primary caregivers. (Kudos to Coca-Cola for this recent change!)
- Purposefully recruit more women for your leadership roles.
- Set up a mentoring program. Studies show mentees were promoted 5 times more and mentors 6 times more than those not in a mentor-mentee relationship.
- Create a supportive environment that encourages women to take on a path that leads them to the c-suite.
Let’s do our part to close this gap long before 2058!
(Create your own profile photo to support equality for women here)