This blog post was written by Gloria Middleton, President of Communications Workers of America, Local 1180 for our 2018 PowHer The Vote campaign.
Most Americans have no idea about the significance of April 10, August 7, or November 1, 2018, despite the fact these days actually have a direct bearing on their lives. April 10 was the day the average woman finally earned what her male counterpart earned the previous year. August 7? That’s when black women caught up to what white men earned in 2017. And November 1? It’s the date Latina women finally earned what men earned – last year.
Shocking? Not really. Race and gender are significant factors in what women earn for doing the exact same jobs as men. According to recent statistics, women in general earn just 80 cents for every dollar a man earns. Black women, on the other hand, are paid only 63 cents for every white male dollar.
As the first African-American and first woman to lead Local 1180, the 9,000 member union comprised of predominantly women and minorities, I know we have to do better to level the playing field.
Even within our own ranks there are enormous discrepancies. Not only are we battling gender and pay inequality, but we are dealing with racial inequality as well. It doesn’t matter what your level of education either. Pay disparity remains consistent across the board. This is not a new phenomenon, however. It is one of the reasons why CWA Local 1180 started a legal case against the City of New York regarding gender and pay disparity. Equal pay for equal work sounds like a simple formula, but apparently it’s not. We have nearly 1,600 Administrative Managers who have been negatively impacted by pay inequity for far too many years, and we need to level the paying field.
When women are not fully and fairly compensated for their work, there is a real risk of not getting what they deserve, but also of not being able to ever close the gap. It’s not only a monetary loss, but a loss of opportunity for promotion, learning, and potential. While women in general receive less support from managers and get promoted less frequently, it’s even worse for black women. According to Lean In’s 2017 Women In the Workplace study, this is an urgent issue that is costing black women more than $800,000 — and, in some states, $1 million — during a lifetime.
It’s bad enough that the huge pay inequity exists at all, but it’s almost worse that one in three people are not even aware of the pay gap problem, according to a 2018 survey conducted by Lean In, Survey Monkey and the National Urban League.
If women don’t know the problem exists, then they don’t know to fight for the equal pay they are entitled to. The pay gap facing women is an urgent problem; the pay gap facing black women is catastrophic. This is a trend that simply cannot continue or we will have an entire group of American workers unable to keep up. That’s why Local 1180 continues to be a leading voice for pay and gender equity, and why we work with our political allies on legislation that will level the playing field. Without that, women, and particularly women of color, will continue to strike out.
And that is why it’s so important for us to support candidates who understand the problem and who ultimately will be the ones to help remedy it. On November 6, we need visionaries who will figure out how to move us forward rather than turn back the clock. Fairness and economic success for women are in our own hands. The struggles will remain insurmountable for all women regardless of race if we don’t start doing something now to stem the tide of inequality.