Equal Pay Day: The Saddest Holiday of the Year

It’s official. This week effectively marks the last day of work of 2023 for women in the United States —

It took almost an additional 12 weeks for women to make it to Equal Pay Day (March 12, 2024) marking how much extra time it took for them to earn as much as their male colleagues did last year.

It’s not a time for celebration.

There will be no cake.

Don’t expect Facebook to remind you.

No one will receive flowers.

It’s 2024, and despite attempts to narrow the gap,?women still earn 16% less than men on average.?

Women earn just 84 cents for every dollar a man makes.

A 20-year-old woman just starting full-time, year-round work stands to lose $407,760 over a 40-year career compared to her male counterpart.?

Now is not the time for pity.

What we need is a resolve to fix what we all know is broken.

Here’s how to change this situation.

1.??? Speak up.?You don’t need to identify as a woman or be underrepresented to speak up. Say something if you see or hear something around pay that doesn’t sound right.

2.??? Don’t blame women for the current state of affairs.?Refrain from saying things like, “It’s not our fault men are better negotiators than women.” When you do this, you put the onus on women to change the situation. There are far few women in powerful positions than men, which means they have limited ability to push this change forward.

3.??? Advocate for a pay audit.?Share best practices on how forward-thinking companies like?Salesforce?are working toward pay equity in their organizations.

Here’s what I’m doing to correct this injustice.?

I’m giving away my Udemy course on?Pay Transparency Conversations?to the first 50 people who ask. This course retails for $199, and I’m giving it to you for FREE.?

Send an email to me at [email protected] and put Pay Transparency in the subject line.

In this course, you will:

1. Quickly?get comfortable?discussing pay with your employees and your manager.?

2. Realize the perception of pay and the?impact on employee retention and recruiting.?

3. Take a?deep dive into pay equity, including steps you can take as a manager to eliminate pay inequity.

4. Receive?sample scripts?to help you?navigate?some of?the most difficult conversations?that will be coming your way.?

My hope is that one day, this horrible holiday will go away.?

Until then, I will keep speaking up for the millions of women who are too busy working second jobs to speak up for themselves.

Concerned about pay equity in your organization? Let’s talk about how I can help you create a fair and equitable workplace that attracts and retains top talent that will stick around.