Black Women’s Equal Pay Day

Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is August 13. But it is NOT a day to celebrate. It is the day in 2020 when the average black woman, working full time since January of 2019, finally catches up to the amount of money that the average white man, working full time, makes in one year.

That’s right! She has to work 20 months to make as much as a white man makes in 12 months. And the difference keeps piling up: it takes her 40 months to his 24 months of work for the same amount of money; 60 months for his 36 months of work. That’s systemic racism and sexism as it plays out in our society. No wonder 22.4 percent of black women have family incomes below the federal poverty line.

So what can we do about it? One big thing would be to recognize the skills required to be a caregiver, and pay those folks according to their real value to our society.

Why start with caregiving? Because for centuries women and slaves were just expected to take care of babies, children, the sick, and the elderly with no compensation at all. And now that caregiving has moved into the marketplace our society still is not in the habit of valuing those skills. In the long run we need to reevaluate jobs and their compensation on a gender and racially neutral scale.

Barb Thomas, August 10, 2020

Crisis shows how vital women's work is

Crisis highlights women and vital roles in society

Letter to the Editor: Times Union
April 10, 2020

The end of Women's History Month and Equal Pay Day on March 31 was an opportunity to reflect on how the coronavirus affects women in untold ways. Women comprise the majority of health and social care workers and are now on the front lines in confronting the virus.

School closings significantly affect women because they make up 77 percent of teachers and because mothers head 84 percent of single-parent households. Frequently, women juggle caregiving schedules while patching together part-time jobs that garner lower wages and fewer benefits.

Women already make up the ranks of the lowest paying jobs; 70 percent of tipped restaurant workers are women. Many are cleaners, a benign-sounding job now made hazardous with higher risk of exposure. Many women have few or no resources to weather any crisis, especially the drastic loss of income from the coronavirus.

The current crisis demonstrates how women's work is vital to the functioning of our society, says PowherNY, which is committed to securing economic equality for all New York women. It's an opportunity to recognize how their work is woefully under-valued, under-appreciated and underpaid.

This crisis will end, but the need for paid sick leave, equal pay policies, access to affordable and quality child care, job training and closing the employment opportunity gap will remain. Planning, funding and legislation must address these issues.

Barbara Thomas, League of Women Voters of Saratoga County
Times Union: https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Crisis-highlights-women-and-vital-roles-in-society-15193451.php

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Crisis shows how vital women's work is

Letter to the Editor: Post Star
Mar 30, 2020

As Equal Pay Day approaches on March 31 and Women’s History Month ends, we offer the following on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting women locally:

Most health and social care workers are women. They are now on the front lines in confronting the virus.

School closings significantly affect women because they make up 77 percent of teachers and because mothers head 84 percent of single-parent households, says PowherNY, which is committed to securing economic equality for all New York women.

As they juggle schedules for caregiving responsibilities, women here in the 21st Congressional District earn 82.1 percent of what men earn, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. They frequently patch together part-time jobs that garner lower wages and fewer benefits.

Many women have few or no resources to weather any crisis, especially the drastic loss of income from the coronavirus.

Our current crisis demonstrates how women’s work is vital to the functioning of our society. It is an opportunity to recognize how their work is woefully undervalued, under-appreciated and underpaid.

In time, this crisis will end, but the need for paid sick leave, equal pay policies, access to affordable and quality child care, job training and closing the employment opportunity gap will continue. Future planning, funding and legislation should and must address these issues.

Barbara Thomas, League of Women Voters of Saratoga County

Post Star: https://poststar.com/opinion/letters/crisis-shows-how-vital-women-s-work-is/article_fe062e91-9bf1-57f4-ac84-035ce745994a.html