80 Cents on the Dollar is Not Enough
WHAT: To recognize National Equal Pay Day and to raise awareness of pay equity and wage discrimination, Business and Professional Women (BPW)/St. Petersburg-Pinellas will hold its 15th annual “Unhappy Hour” on April 10, the symbolic day that the average woman in the United States finally earns the same amount of pay that her male counterpart earned in the previous calendar year. According to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in September 2017, the average woman makes just 80.5 cents for every dollar a man is paid, reflecting a gap that results in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages over the course of a career. Therefore, if a man was paid $50,000 to perform his job from January 1 through December 31, it will take a woman in the same position, on average, until April of the following year to earn the same amount.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 10, 2018, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: The Arts Xchange in St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District, 515 22nd Street South.
COST: The public is invited to attend this free event. No RSVP is necessary. Light appetizers and a cash bar will be available. For more information, visit www.bpwstpetepinellas.org.
ABOUT: According to the U.S. Department of Labor, when the Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, women were earning an average of 59 cents on the dollar compared to men. While women hold roughly half of today’s jobs and their earnings account for a significant portion of the household income that sustains the financial well-being of their families, they are still experiencing a gap in pay compared to men’s wages for similar work. For women of color, the pay gap is even greater. African American women average only 63 cents, and Hispanic women are typically paid only 54 cents for every dollar paid to male workers. At the current rate of change, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research has estimated that the wage gap will not close until 2059.