Guest Blog: Commemorating International Equal Pay Day

International Equal Pay Day was established in 2019 by the U.N. General Assembly to raise awareness of the gender pay gap across the world, draw attention to the systemic inequalities that inhibit progress towards women’s economic empowerment, and highlight efforts to close the gap. The day was first commemorated by the United Nations on Sept. 18, 2020.

International Equal Pay Day was born from the United Nations’ recognition that despite decades of activism and dozens of laws on equal pay around the world, women still earn less than 80 cents for every dollar that men are paid. The pay gap is even wider for women of color, mothers, and women with disabilities. In the United States, Black women earn only 63.7 cents, Indigenous women 59 cents, and Latinas 57 cents for every dollar that White men earn.

In fact, the most recent Global Gender Gap Report predicts that it will take 134 years to reach full parity–receiving equal pay for equal work–at the current rate of progress.