The persistent pay gap between men and women has, unfortunately, been making headlines for decades. But when we talk about equal pay, what is too often left out of the conversation is the fact that the wage gap is significantly worse for women of color.



Case in point: July 31 is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. This means it’s the day when black women’s pay finally catches up to white men’s pay from the previous year. The fact that we have to wait until almost August for that to happen speaks volumes about the status of equality for black women today.

While young black women are now the most educated group in the country, we are also more likely to live in poverty and are still paid less than white women (and much less than white men). On average, black women working full time are paid only 63 cents for every dollar their white male counterparts make.

Year after year, this gap adds up to staggering financial inequalities: Based on the current pay gap, black women are projected to lose more than $840,000 over the course of a career compared to white men. That’s money that could have been used to buy property, pay for higher education for ourselves or our children, cover health expenses, and more. With 80 percent of black women serving as the breadwinner of their household, the wage gap robs entire families of critical opportunities.

It also contributes to a massive racial wealth gap that reverberates across generations. This is something I see in my own life. I consider myself privileged to make a decent living doing what I love and I am aware that I earn more than most in my family. But there is no “financial safety net” for me, nor for folks in my family. Every dollar and every cent matters not just for me, but for those who I support — which is not an uncommon story for women of color like me. When we talk about equal pay and don’t talk about the ramifications it has on generational wealth, we fail to address the full picture, as the disparities among young black women are even more dire.

Some people make up bogus reasons to explain away this injustice. One state senator went so far as to claim that “money is more important for men.” (Eye roll.) But most Americans get the problem: Almost 7 in 10 voters support policies that would address the fact that women get paid less than men for the same work.

We need elected leaders who recognize the urgency of this issue. While we’ve made some slow progress over time, pay inequality is for many women, especially many young women of color, not just a question of basic economic survival for us, it’s survival for our families and for generations after us. We need a new generation of leaders who are ready to fight tooth and nail for policy changes like the Paycheck Fairness Act, a higher minimum wage — which black women are disproportionately likely to earn — and paid leave time.

Settling for the status quo means simply accepting that women of color are being robbed of hundreds of thousands of dollars across a lifetime — and that’s something that none of us should be willing to do.

Christin “Cici” Battle is the director of the Young People For program at People For the American Way Foundation. Follow her on Twitter.

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