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While Black women are some of the hardest working people on the planet, we do not make an equal wage for equal work. This is why August 22 has been deemed #BlackWomenEqualPayDay.
According to the Atlanta Women for Equality (AME), African-American women make $0.61 for every dollar earned by White men. Even worse? More than 70 percent of Black women are either the sole breadwinners or the primary earner in their families.
So to cheat us out of our wages directly impacts our families and can keep us in poverty.
But a new study tells an even more grim tale of what lost wages looks like in our lives.
According to a study released this month by the National Women’s Law Center, over the course of a 40-year career, that totals $946,120, nearly a million dollars!
Just think how different our lives would look like with that type of money.
But Tucker believes that we are the force to make a serious change.
“I think that the sort of interesting thing is that Black women are gaining political power right now. Black women are gonna continue to drive the movement forward and they’re gonna continue because they’re the one pushing this forward and there’s a mismatch between their growing political power and [them] falling behind terms of economic security and family security,” she stressed.
Of course, Black women took to Twitter to raise awareness around the hashtag and to demand that we get paid what we DESERVE:
Black Women Take To Twitter To Demand #BlackWomenEqualPay was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
1.
The House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act in March. But McConnell blocked the bill in the Senate. While McConnell refuses to act, black women face up to $23,653 in lost wages a year. We demand equal pay for equal work! RT if you agree. #BlackWomensEqualPay
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 22, 2019
2.
It is #BlackWomensEqualPay, the day when Black women earn as much as white men earned in 2018. Since we also have the largest amount of student debt, this gap hurts us even worse. Pay us what you owe us. Don’t act like you forgot. https://t.co/jFQFmi0Qgy
— Evette Dionne (@freeblackgirl) August 22, 2019
3.
Beyoncé said it best. #BlackWomensEqualPay pic.twitter.com/i9hp1oOqIY
— Goodnight, Books 📚 (@emarvelous) August 22, 2019
4.
Today is #BlackWomensEqualPayDay which highlights the hard fact that Black Women in America have to work 599 days to make what white men get in 365 days. Black Women are paid 39% less than their white male counterparts. This is true in every industry. Hollywood included. pic.twitter.com/wvpq9xJmVG
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) August 22, 2019
5.
Aug 22 is #BlackWomensEqualPay Day, showing how far into 2019 black women must work to earn what white men made in 2018. Black women disproportionately are heads of households—you lift up black women, you lift up entire communities. They deserve equal pay. https://t.co/cM8XFOl5RP pic.twitter.com/Px15w0hAbQ
— Aja Naomi King (@ajanaomi_king) August 22, 2019
6.
7.
Today marks #BlackWomensEqualPay Day - or the date in the new year when Black women FINALLY earn what white, non-Hispanic men made last year alone. pic.twitter.com/I5TklroldX
— In Our Own Voice (@BlackWomensRJ) August 22, 2019
8.
On #BlackWomensEqualPay Day, let's remember that the wage gap doesn't just affect economic success—it also affects Black women’s ability to get health care & can worsen the structural barriers that Black communities already face to accessing quality care. https://t.co/RnPK7AVfWt
— Alexis McGill Johnson (@alexismcgill) August 22, 2019
9.
Honestly, I don’t think I should have to f*cking work at all.
— Amber J. Phillips (@AmberAbundance) August 22, 2019
Happy #BlackWomensEqualPay! pic.twitter.com/AxK9ee16Rs
10.
When asked "What advice do you have for a young black woman negotiating her first big raise?" Lauren Wesley Wilson of @ColorCommntwk provided the following.
— The ELC (@elcinfo) August 22, 2019
Source: https://t.co/04TeGic2of #BlackWomensEqualPay pic.twitter.com/ra9UroU3io
11.
Black mothers are far more likely than other mothers to be the primary or sole breadwinners for their families. #BlackWomensEqualPay is ESSENTIAL to economic stability for Black families. pic.twitter.com/b4pBf2Q3ys
— Brenda Lawrence (@RepLawrence) August 22, 2019
12.
August 22 is Black Women Equal Pay Day, which is the date a Black woman has to work into 2019 to achieve the same pay a white man earned in 2018. As it stands today, black women earn $0.61 for every dollar earned by their white male counterparts.#BlackWomenEqualPayDay @elcinfo pic.twitter.com/1JCmlgek4F
— howard wright (@hgw1967) August 19, 2019
13.
On another, lighter note: pay me! We run homes, businesses, and are the most educated, so what are y’all waiting for? #BlackWomenEqualPayDay I’ll tell them Stalli sent me ;) @theestallion pic.twitter.com/Jgl7F4QYLy
— Jalina Porter (@glamonthehill) August 22, 2019
14.
Occupational Segregation - 44.4% of employed women in the US are clustered in just 20 occupational categories of which the average annual earnings is $38,779. Of course the majority of these women are women of color. #blackwomenequalpayday
— Cherita Ellens (@CheritaEllens) August 22, 2019
15.
Run 👏🏽 us 👏🏽 our 👏🏽 coin!#MyMagicAintFree#PayBlackWomen#BlackWomenEqualPayDay ✊🏾♀💲 pic.twitter.com/x1xBXddUII
— Toni Wiley (@ToniWiley_1789) August 22, 2019
16.
Black women:
— Sasha Manford ☁️ (@SashaManford) August 22, 2019
-Make up the largest group of minority women-owned business
-Have one the biggest voter turnouts
"The average black woman must work an additional 8 months and 22 days into 2019 to earn what her male counterpart earned in 2018."#BlackWomenEqualPayDay https://t.co/rjjJI0cKS7
17.
On #BlackWomenEqualPayDay/#BlackWomensEqualPay, a reminder: pay equity is still a dream for many of us, but esp for sexuality professionals. Rates still widely vary & Black sexuality professionals are still grossly underpaid from non-Black colleagues.
— Sex Ed Business Coach (@cameronglover_) August 22, 2019
We need to do better.
18.
I can't stress the importance of ALLIES in getting #BlackWomenEqualPay. In my first lobbying job, the white man who hired me paid me $15K more than what I asked.
— Krystal Elaine Scott (@byKrystalElaine) August 22, 2019
When I became a director, my white male colleague told me what he made so I could negotiate a higher salary. https://t.co/wtoJ0tXUEp
19.
#BlackWomenEqualPayDay pic.twitter.com/ZIK95Psy8s
— Your Silence Will Not Protect You (@SoniaGartside) August 22, 2019
20.
If this world “LOVES” black women, why the hell are we STILL just getting paid 61 cents for every 1 dollar that white men make?! It’s time to pay up... #BlackWomenEqualPayDay #LoveDontPayTheBills #blackfeminism #womanism #healthy #unabashedlyprovocative #luxurious #cupcakenoire pic.twitter.com/zWNgF3XGwU
— C U P C A K E N O I R E ®️ (@cupcakenoire) August 22, 2019
21.
Today is #BlackWomensEqualPay Day. August 22, 2019 is the day #BlackWomenAtWork in the U.S. finally "catch up" to what white men earned in 2018.
— The Well (@TheWell__Space) August 22, 2019
Yes, you read that correctly. Black women have to work 8 more months before we earn the same salary as white men (for the same work). pic.twitter.com/6JzIX0NXsq