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Statement

On Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, Let’s Resolve to Finally Close the Wage Gap that Punishes Black Women and the Structural Racism and Sexism that Drive It

August 3, 2021
Workplace Justice, Equal Pay

Lisa Lederer, 202/371-1996

Statement of leaders of MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day – the day that marks how long Black women have to work in 2021 to catch up to what white, non-Hispanic men were typically paid in 2020.

“The wage gap -- now just 63 cents paid to Black women for every dollar paid to white men -- continues to take a devastating toll on Black communities. We cannot have a just recovery from the pandemic unless we close it and end the many forms of discrimination and oppression that Black women continue to face. The wage gap is even more damaging for Black moms, who are paid just 52 cents on the dollar compared to white dads. No one should ever be shortchanged on her paycheck because of her gender or race, but due to compounded structural racism and sexism, that is the reality Black women face. This shameful wage gap must end.

“Black women are more likely to serve in the front line positions that have kept our country running during the pandemic, even as they face oppression in our economy, in the criminal justice system and in health care. That’s unacceptable. To truly ‘build back better,’ Congress must take bold action to close the wage gap and end the systemic racism and sexism that harms children, families, communities and our economy.”

-Statement of Monifa Bandele, Senior Advisor, MomsRising

“On average, Black women will lose nearly $1 million dollars over a 40-year career to the wage gap -- a staggering loss that makes it harder for Black families to put food on the table, pay for child care, education, and health care, save for emergencies and for retirement, and more. Black women should not have to work 20 months to be paid what white men are paid in 12. Wage discrimination forces families into poverty, and it has made it even harder for Black women to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had an outsized impact on Black women’s financial security. 

“The time for action is now. The U.S. Senate must join the U.S. House in passing the Paycheck Fairness Act to promote pay transparency and increase penalties for wage discrimination. It’s also past time to give minimum wage workers and tipped workers, who are disproportionately Black women, a long-overdue raise to $15 an hour. Finally, we must build a care infrastructure and an economy that works for working moms, and that includes paid family and medical leave, universal child care, and a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit. 

“We will not stop fighting until the wage gap is closed and all families can thrive.”

-Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO, MomsRising

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.