International Day of Equal Pay

According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, in 2020, women’s annual earnings were 82.3% of men’s, and the gap is even wider for many women of color. Though women only made 57 cents per dollar earned by men in 1973 when this Department of Labor PSA was made, progress has stalled and we’re still far from closing the pay gap - writes blog.dol.gov.

There is more than one Equal Pay Day. The wage gap is even greater for many women. To earn what white, non-Hispanic men earned in 2020, Asian American and Pacific Islander women had to work until March 9. Mothers won’t catch up until June 4 (compared with fathers, on average). For many women of color, Equal Pay Day falls later and later into the year. For Black women it is not until Aug. 3. For Native American women it is not until Sept. 8. Lastly, for Latinas, Equal Pay Day is more than 9 months into the year on Oct. 21.

International Equal Pay Day, celebrated on 18 September, represents the longstanding efforts towards the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value. It further builds on the United Nations' commitment to human rights and against all forms of discrimination, including discrimination against women and girls.