Everything You Need To Know About Equal Pay Day 2018

Tuesday, April 10 marks 2018’s Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to bringing awareness to the gender pay gap. The date marks the estimated number of days (from January 1) women must work to earn the same pay men did in 2017. Even though there are laws in the United States that mandate equal pay, it's clear that discrimination based on gender and race still occurs.

According to Vox, women make about 79 percent of what men make on average. The statistics are even worse when you break down the gap by race and ethnicity. 

"While this overall gender wage gap [the 79 percent] is an important statistical representation of how women take home less money in wages than men across the economy, it is important to consider the specific influencing factors: A number of different things, including race and ethnicity, interact to affect earnings," said the Center for American Progress. "When examining the wage gap for women of color, for example, it becomes clear that on average, women of color experience a much greater wage deficit than white women."

For example, according to HuffPost, in 2016, women on average were paid 80 cents for every dollar men earned, while "black women were paid 63 cents; Latinas, 54 cents for every dollar white men made." 

Overall, estimates say that it may take another 14 years to eradicate the wage gap.

This is why the National Committee on Pay Equity brings awareness to the pay gap each year with their campaign. The group encourages businesses to take a second look at their pay scales and helps individuals contact their congressional representatives to talk about the pay gap.

In addition to that, the NCPE encourages people to participate in WAGE Clubs, which give women a space to talk about evening out the gap. 

It’s been 22 years since the NCPE started bringing awareness to the wage gap with this day. Since then, hundreds of organizations have supported their efforts by staging their own equal pay awareness events. To learn more about Equal Pay Day, check out NCPE’s official website here.