The Myths of Black Women and Equal Pay

July 21, 2017, was Black Women's Equal Pay Day. This date, sadly, marked how long into 2017 a Black women had to work to be paid the same wages as her white male counterparts were paid in 2016. As a whole, Black women are often subjected to racial pay gaps and gender pay gaps. Since very few Black women are among the top five percent of earners in America, this wage pay gap touches on their lives in three distinct ways. Lets take a look at these myths.

1. If Black women worked harder, they would get the pay they deserve. I will refrain from sharing with you my initial thoughts on this statement. The truths is, most Black women work more hours than white women and men, yet the wage pay relative to white men has grown. And all women, no matter the color, worked more hours than their male counterparts, and yet, still receive a lesser pay. Even with persistent racial wage gap, labor discrimination, and other obstacles, Black women continue to increase their hours on the job and weeks each year for no reward.

2. If Black women would just educate themselves they would get better pay. Hold up! What the hell is this bulls#$t? If we "educate" ourselves we would get a better pay. We all know that is a bunch of horse nuggets. Did you know that two-thirds of Black women working have some post-secondary education? This includes a bachelor degree or higher, and still Black women are paid less than white men who have equivalent or lesser education.

3. If Black women chose careers that paid them more, this would close the wage gap. Back up and look at this statement once more. If after reading this myth twice you still believe this to be a "truth", then you must have not clearly understood the previous myth about education. Or do you just refuse to believe the truth. It is not that Black women do not choose careers that make more money, it is the fact that occupational segregation pushes us back into positions white men believe are for us. And we still get paid less than our white counterparts when we worked in these jobs or careers!

I believe the reasons for this wage gap is because of racial stereotypes. Society sees what the media and movies often show, Black women who are unmotivated, lazy, welfare recipients, domestics, etc. Regardless of what Black women achieve, we will always (hopefully this will change) be paid less than our white male coworkers.

At least on July 31, 2017, we finally caught up to the pay of our white counterparts in 2016. Yah, we are still at the bottom looking up. Let's make sure we aren't getting the s&*t they are dishes out to us on our faces they might use this as another reason why we aren't making as much money as they are.

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Until next time, keep your voice loud and proud. Together we can make a difference!