Why we STILL need to talk EQUAL PAY

I was chatting to a mate of mine the other day. A high flying consultant.

We were talking about the gender pay gap, and she she rolled her eyes, she said to me: 

"Oh, that doesn't happen where I work - We DEFINITELY don't have that.

There's no way I'd be paid less, not in 2021!"

I had to give her the awkward news, that yes, yes her company does have a pay gap.

(I know this because in the UK & Australia companies have to publicly report their gender wage gaps - check it out, you can search by company name, it's fascinating)

I founded PepTalkHer after my own experience of pay inequality. To be honest, like my friend, I was completely naive and frankly oblivious - until it happened to me.

So today I want to shine a light on the statistics and how they impact you and importantly - those around you. 

It's an issue front of mind for our American friends today, with today marking a very unhappy #EqualPayDay (but it's not equal pay day for ALL women - more on that in a second)

March 24 symbolizes how far into 2021 white women have to work to catch up in earnings, to the average white bloke's pay in 2020.  The 18% gender pay gap (for white womxn) is marked by today's date.  For women of color, the gap is even WORSE:

? Black women earn only 63 cents in the dollar (August 3 is Black Women's Equal pay day)

? Indigenous women 60 cents in the dollars (September 23 marks their Equal Pay Day)

? Latina Women 55 cents in the dollar (October 2 is Latina Equal Pay Day)

The other bad news? Moms are hard hit too. Especially this year with the pandemic disproportionately impacting women, especially those with kids. 

Women are still earning (at least) $10k less a year. Which means we retire with less ($500,000 - $1 million LESS!) & have less in savings, making emergencies (like covid) even tougher.

In 1960, we earnt just 60 cents in the dollar. Change is happening, albeit SLOWLLLLLLLY.

The World Economic Forum reckons it's 250+ years til we solve the #paygap. I'm not willing to wait that long!

I'm passionate about lobby for a systemic overhaul so we can get the huge change we deserve when it comes to pay equity. It's going to take legislation & policy to force change (and enforce fines in my humble opinion for non compliance)

In the meantime, I'm a big believer in tangible steps to help you move the needle, right now. That's the reason I built the PepTalkHer App & the reason we love partnering with our corporate clients to help support their teams & policy change.

Here's how YOU can help today:

LOBBY YOUR EMPLOYER

• Does your company have pay secrecy clauses?
• Transparent pay bands?
• Do they analyse their gender pay gap annually?

These are all levers that can help improve pay equity.

SUPPORT WOMEN

Having more women in positions of leadership and in politics is crucial for these issues to be front and centre of policy and debate. Ring your elected officials, email them & tell them what you think & support your local candidates....and maybe consider running yourself. (And if you do, let us know so we can help!)

TALK OPENLY ABOUT $$$

Here's one final tip for individuals, that some of you may find uncomfortable - TALK ABOUT MONEY.

Talk about what you earn and what you want to earn. Talk about your salary range and how you handle your pay raise and promotion conversations. Sharing this intel with colleagues and friends helps them have data to take into their conversations. It raises their awareness of what is, and could, be possible for them.

I want to issue you all a challenge - a challenge to discuss pay and compensation with ONE PERSON today. Someone you trust, someone who has your back. Go out on a limb and strike up a conversation - let me know how you go below!

Meggie

PS. We just ran a free, 5 day KNOW YOUR WORTH Challenge. Almost 800 people globally joined in and the successes were off the charts. From pay raises, to reduced student debt, to refunded credit card fees, the changes in less than a week were frankly even more amazing than I could have imagined.

It was so epic, we're re-launching it today to coincide with Equal Pay Day. So, if you'd like to join us when we start on Monday, sign up here. It's a 5 minute commitment, for 5 days. See you then!