According to the American Association of University Women, or AAUW, women who work full time are still paid only 80 cents compared to men’s dollar. Some groups of women take longer than others to bridge the gender pay gap each year.
While “Equal Pay Day” for all women is celebrated on April 4 as the date when women’s salaries finally catch up to men’s for work done in the prior calendar year, many women of color must continue working for several additional months before achieving symbolic parity with men’s annual earnings. The AAUW reports that just to catch up, black women must work until July 31, Native American women until September 25 and Latinas until October 31 — simply in order to make the equivalent of a man’s previous year of earnings. There’s a stiff motherhood penalty as well, as it takes working moms until May 23 each year to catch up.
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The gender pay gap is a pervasive problem with no simple solutions. But while the law, and bosses, are slow to catch up to reality, there are still practical steps you can take to move forward to close the gap:
Follow and support equal pay legislation. The main U.S. federal law governing this arena is the Equal Pay Act. This legislation was passed in 1963 and has not been updated in over 50 years. The EPA was designed to prohibit gender-based pay discrimination by requiring employers to pay male and female employees in similar jobs the same wage. But despite good intentions, this law hasn’t been effective enough since the gender pay gap still exists, and women aren’t getting much closer to earning wages equal to what their male peers earn. To provide the EPA with its first-ever update by attempting to bring its practices and principles in line with other U.S. civil rights laws, members of Congress are taking steps to reintroduce the Paycheck Fairness Act. This legislation:
— Creates incentives for employers to follow the law and offer true equal pay
— Bars retaliation against workers who discuss or disclose their salaries voluntarily
— Prohibits employers from relying on an employee’s salary history to determine future pay, to stop pay discrimination from following women across multiple jobs and limiting their long-term earning potential
In addition to staying posted on the Paycheck Fairness Act, you can support equal pay legislation in your state. The AAUW notes that as of April 2017, 40 states had already filed or pre-filed legislation that addresses equal pay in their respective 2017 legislative sessions — four more than did so in all of last year. Half of this year’s state bills hone in on banning employers from requesting salary history as part of the job application process. In 2016, states passed six equal pay laws. For more details on how to take political action to fight for fair pay, click here.
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Keep up with equal pay research. Knowledge can be turned into power, so it’s important to know everything you can about the facts and figures behind the gender pay gap. A great place to start is by reading the AAUW’s The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap Spring 2017 Edition, which you can download for free in both English and Spanish. This research goes far beyond the oft-quoted “80 percent” statistic to explain in detail what’s behind the pay gap in the United States and answer question such as:
— Do women receive lower paychecks because they choose lower-paying positions?
— Is the pay gap caused by more women than men opting to work part time and/or by women taking on greater responsibilities for caregiving?
— How is gender bias related to the salaries that men and women earn?
There’s plenty of other research that can help you learn more about the current state of the gender pay gap and how to improve it. Search the web for reputable research organizations to gather as much data as possible on the subject.
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Know your worth and how to negotiate for it. The third leg of the stool when it comes to battling the gender pay gap is a more personal one. It involves understanding how high your salary should be based on industry trends for your job in your specific area of the country — and then using strong negotiating skills to request the money that you’re worth. Remember these key pointers when negotiating your salary, whether for a new position or when requesting a raise:
— Consider timing. Don’t ask about money too early in the interview process, or at a time when you’ve heard budgets are down at your current company.
— Rely on research. Come prepared to negotiating meetings armed with industry research and market data to support your requested salary range for your level and location.
— Don’t reveal what you don’t have to. Hold back from sharing specific numbers about your current compensation or committing prematurely to an amount that you want.
It’s certainly true that until legislation changes to more effectively mandate equal pay, gender bias and discrimination may still keep you from landing the pay package that you deserve. Nevertheless, it’s critical to take active steps toward chipping away at any personal pay gap you may face in your career — as well as doing what you can to help address the larger gender pay gap.
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3 Ways to Overcome the Gender Pay Gap originally appeared on usnews.com
