In other words, it takes the typical Black American woman 18 months to be paid what the average White man takes home in a year.
This is why Dalana A. Brand, Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever and Nana Tigari Akosua Afiriyie have been working so hard to increase awareness among the general public, and in Dr. DeWeever and Ms. Brand’s cases, advocating for wage and salary parity, as well as helping Black, female clients to be pro-active and smarter about the career choices they make and the salaries they negotiate.
On Aug. 7, women’s rights organizations, gender activists, civil libertarians and women observed Equal Pay Day for Black women which put a spotlight on the vast income disparities Black women endure.
Ms. Brand, vice president of Global Total Rewards at Electronic Arts, Inc., contends that Black women can’t afford to wait, arguing in an August 7 opinion piece for Blavity, an internet media company, that in the midst of the flurry of publicity, tweets, posts, hashtags and calls for change, one important element is missing.
“What often gets left out of that discussion is that the hallmark day in April does not apply to black women and other women of color,” she said. “This year, August 7 is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. So, while white women caught up on April 10 of this year, black women must wait for over half the year to pass before our wages catch up to what men made a year ago.”
Ms. Brand, a highly-sought after salary strategist and career transformation coach, said Black women are paid 38 percent less than White men and 21 percent less than White women but “the sad fact is that most people are either unaware or don’t care about the appalling disparity Black women face with respect to pay equity.”
Ms. Brand added that a study by LeanIn.org, which partnered with Survey Monkey and the National Urban League, indicates that a third of Americans aren’t aware of the pay gap between Black women and White men, and half of them don’t know about a similar gap between Black and White women.