Women Struggle For Equal Pay
Women today are still fighting to receive equal pay for equal work. Unfortunately, research shows that we might be fighting for the rest of our lives.
According to research from the World Economic Forum, the progress to close the gender gap is too slow to realize in our lifetime. At this current rate, the economic gender gap will not close for another 170 years. That’s unacceptable and millions of women are fighting to close the gap faster.
Today, people across the country are participating in “A Day Without a Woman” protests. These protests are organized by the Women’s March on Washington activists. It’s said to be a “one-day demonstration of economic solidarity,” and its goal is to demonstrate the “enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system—while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity.”
But protests aren’t the only way we can spread the word about pay discrimination. It’s also important to give our time, our energy, and our donations to charities and organizations that are fighting for women’s rights. There are plenty of organizations out there that are working on closing the gender gap.
Some Mindful Companies Working to Close the Gender Gap.
American Association of University Women
AAUW is a non-profit that advocates for the “equity and education for women and girls.” They conduct research on equity issues in the workplace. They have programs to assist girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. And they even have salary negotiation workshops for women. Find out more about their programs here.
Equal Rights Advocates
ERA is a non-profit dedicated to “protecting and expanding economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls.” This organization has three advocacy programs, including the Strong Girl Initiative (which ensures that all students can go to school safe from harassment and stereotypes) and the Women at Work Initiative (which helps to remove systemic barriers in the workplace, including sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and unequal pay). Check out the ERA website for more details about the advocacy group.
National Women’s Law Center
The Center “champions policies and laws that help women and girls achieve their potential at every stage of their lives.” The Center advocates passing the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Raise the Wage Act both of which would be a great help to women. They also fight for working women in other ways, including affordable childcare and ending sexual harassment in the military. You can find more information from the National Women’s Law Center’s website.
Bonus
Last year, five of our U.S. soccer champions stood for equal pay among male and female soccer players. Learn more about Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Hope Solo here.