By Carole Copeland Thomas, MBA, CDMP, CITM The American Association of University Women, AAUW, has carefully compiled a targeted report that gives a comprehensive breakdown of who's earning what in each ethnic/racial category. In tribute to my late aunt, Camilla Charleston Thomas, who was the first black member of the Columbus, Georgia Branch, I have been a member of AAUW for many years. Here's AAUW's take on the 80% to a man's dollar disparity between men and women's wages. Black, White, Asian, Latino, Native Hawaiian and American Indian (Indigenous People) are the racial categories used in their research. -Carole The Pay Gap Is Worse for Women of Color The pay gap affects women from all backgrounds, at all ages, and of all levels of educational achievement, although earnings and the gap vary depending on a woman’s individual situation. Among full-time workers in 2015, Hispanic and Latina, African American, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian and other native women had lower median annual earnings compared with non-Hispanic white and Asian American women. But within racial/ethnic groups, African American, Hispanic, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian women experienced a smaller gender pay gap compared with men in the same group than did non-Hispanic white and Asian American women (below). A Closer Look at the Numbers by RaceUsing a single benchmark provides a more informative picture. Because non-Hispanic white men are the largest demographic group in the labor force, they are often used for that purpose. AAUW uses two different data sources for earnings ratios by race/ethnicity. For African American, Asian American, and Latina and Hispanic women, we follow the Current Population Survey (CPS). Because the CPS lacks sufficient sample size for smaller demographic groups, we follow the American Community Survey (ACS) for Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, American Indian, and Alaska Native women.
Compared with salary information for white male workers, Asian American women’s salaries show the smallest gender pay gap, at 85 percent of white men’s earnings. The gap was largest for Hispanic and Latina women, who were paid only 54 percent of what white men were paid in 2015 (below).
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By Carole Copeland Thomas Tough, Tenacious and Talented. That’s how you can describe most women in the workplace. They have to be since the red carpet has never been rolled out for most women who need and want to earn a paycheck Circumstantial differences count for some factors that keep the pay gap between men and women volatile. The necessity to raise a family. Ongoing strength and endurance perceptions about some women succeeding in nontraditonal jobs. And age-old bias that women shouldn’t work continues to contribute to an uneven gender playing field. In some instances, women have succeeded and are making great strides to contribute, collaborate and coordinate even in the most competitive industries. We certainly salute the recent elevation of Rosalind Brewer, the first female and first African American appointed as Chief Operation Officer (COO) at Starbucks. That is indeed a major milestone and should be celebrated for its symbolism of advancement. The larger question is how can hiring the Rosalind Brewer’s of the world become simply an everyday occurrence? And how can we move beyond women getting only 80% for every man’s dollar? That number is even more troubling when you break it down along racial lines. These questions and others like it are societal issues every industry and organization should discuss. Pay equity impacts our men, women sons and daughters who deserve every opportunity to succeed in the workplace. The answers will come from all of us confronting our shortfalls, perceptions, and fears while determining how we can collectively aim higher for greater equity and advancement for all. That’s our long-term homework assignment so that more tough, tenacious and talented women will succeed, lead and achieve throughout our country and throughout the world. Registration Now Open For The November 2nd Multicultural Conference
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