On average, women make 77 cents for every dollar that a man in the same job earns. This number comes from U.S. Census Bureau data that indicates what the typical American woman working at least 35 hours a week, year-round is paid, reports Fast Company.
However, there is a much wider gender-based gap with African-American women when compared to white men and women. According to a recent analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families, African-American women are paid, on average, just 60 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
When women lose income, their economic security is weakened.
The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace, access to quality health care and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family.
The analysis continues to report that more than 50 percent of married African-American mothers bring in half or more than half of their families’ income, which means their households rely heavily on their wages to make ends meet and get ahead.
Median wages for African-American women in the Unites States are $33,533 per year, compared to the median wages of $55,470 annually for white men, the analysis states. Furthermore, African-American women head nearly 4.1 million family households in the United States, and 37 percent of all family households headed by African-American women live below the poverty level. This means more than 1.5 million family households headed by African-American women live in poverty.
It’s important to note that since 2002, women have been paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to men, with two exceptions. In 2003, women were paid 76 cents for every dollar paid to men. And in 2007, women were paid 78 cents for every dollar paid to men, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual survey.
“Pay inequities and wage discrimination perpetuate poverty, and women of color suffer the most,” Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families told Fast Company. “In the very states in which most African-American women and Latinas work, the loss of critical income makes it much harder for them and their families to get ahead or even stay afloat.”
