The Top Five Things You Can Do This Equal Pay Day to Close the Wage Gap


Tap & hold the above image & share to on your Instagram story! Don't forget to tag @ladiesgetpaid, we'll be sharing the best ones on our Instagram! 📸:  Danielle Vogl

Tap & hold the above image & share to on your Instagram story! Don’t forget to tag @ladiesgetpaid, we’ll be sharing the best ones on our Instagram! 📸: Danielle Vogl

We all know the sad statistics: The World Economic Forum estimates that it will take 217 years for women to reach pay parity, up from 170 last year. Hispanic women make 55 cents to the dollar. Mothers suffer a 5% wage penalty for every child they have. 

What can we as individuals, possibly do to combat something so systemic and so overwhelming??

I hear you. Before I started Ladies Get Paid, I spent a year digging into these stats and feeling like utter shit. Then I had a realization: if I could learn how to advocate for myself and get a raise, and I could teach that to another women, then together, wouldn’t we be closing the gap? 

But of course, this shouldn’t be all on us. (We’re not being paid enough.) We need companies and legislation to push for policies that protect and promote women so we can have an equal shot at thriving, not just surviving.

Here are five things you can do to close the gap:

1. Do your research. Understand how the wage gap affects different women differently. When you think of the wage gap, you probably think 78 cents to the dollar. However when you break it down further, you’ll find that depending on a myriad of factors (ethnicity, location, industry, etc), the stats get so much worse. So make sure when you talk about the wage gap, you mention that. 

2. Make the business case. If you’re going to approach your company to advocate for policies that help close the gap (think parental leave, affordable childcare, pay transparency), make sure you have evidence to why this helps the bottom line. All these things cost money and no company will put budget behind something that doesn’t ultimately make them $$$. 

3. Talk about money. It’s awkward, we get it. But the only way we’re going to get paid more is if we normalize the conversation by well, having the conversation.

4. Lobby your local legislators. A number of states/cities recently passed the salary history ban but as of yet, this is not a federal mandate. Find out if your state/city has passed this law and if not, it’s up to you, dear citizen, to exercise your rights and tell your local legislators to get on it.

5. Get paid. A lot.

Yours in getting money,
Claire + Team LGP
#SmashThePaytriarchy

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