While women continue to reach notable milestones — they account for more than half of U.S. college students and hold 52 percent of professional-level jobs — one barrier that continues to pose a major challenge is the gender wage gap.
Today, April 14, is “Equal Pay Day.” The date isn’t random — it’s how far into the year (four and a half additional months) women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year.
The observance was started by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996 to raise public awareness of the discrepancy between men’s and women’s wages.
According to the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau (2013), women who work full time earn, on average, only 78 cents for every dollar men earn. The gap is even greater for women of color.
Staggering statistics stemming from the wage discrepancy have been making the rounds on social media — from the likelihood that women will retire in poverty versus men to the number of decades it will take to overcome the gap — and now, many celebrities have thrown their names behind the cause.
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Kerry Washington gave a nod to Equal Pay Day, tweeting the hashtag #Ask4More:
#Ask4More. Equal Pay for equal work. https://t.co/E42qv4rjoJ #EqualPayDay pic.twitter.com/E1LkcQWcil
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) April 14, 2015
Actress and model Chloë Grace Moretz offered a visual on the disparity, posting a picture of 78 cents in hand:
For every dollar a man makes, a woman makes #78Cents let’s squash the wage gap. #EqualPayDay #EqualPayEqualWork pic.twitter.com/IvvYwlupIQ
— Chloë Grace Moretz (@ChloeGMoretz) April 14, 2015
Czech supermodel Karolina Kurkova also joined in on the social media advocacy, quoting actress and comedian Amy Poehler:
“It is not overreacting to ask for what you want and need.” – Amy Poehler #askformore #EqualPayDay
— Karolina Kurkova (@karolinakurkova) April 14, 2015
Want to get in on the debate? Take FN’s poll and let us know how the gender wage gap impacts you.
