3 Equal Pay Day Activities That Will Do Some Good In Your Community

Unsplash/Omar Lopez

Yep, it’s 2018 and we’re still having a conversation about the gender wage gap.

A recent Payscale study shows that when comparing all working women to all working men, women earn 78 cents to every dollar men make. Basically, we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to pay equality for women.

This year’s Equal Pay Day lands on April 10, and while you should wear red to show your support for the women who are facing unequal pay in this country, there are other ways to spread the word about this important day. Here are three activities you could engage in to really make an impact.

1. Write or call your elected officials.

The first thing you should be doing on Equal Pay Day is looking up the phone numbers of your elected officials. Hit up their office phones or write them letters to ask what they’re doing to advocate for equal pay. If you have a story to share with them, feel free to do so. Either way, the key is to get your officials’ attention on this particular day.

Unsplash/Drop the Label Movement

2. Suggest your company hold a salary negotiation workshop.

A survey conducted by Bankrate’s Cashlorette found that 63 percent of millennials aged 18 to 36 reported sharing their salaries with an immediate family member, while 48 percent of them shared the numbers with friends. Thirty percent shared the information with their co-workers, which is drastically different from the 8 percent of baby boomers who did the same thing. Basically, more millennials are sharing their salaries, which is a step in the right direction.

Regardless of whether you find discrepancies between you and your coworkers, you should know how to negotiate for the salary you want. Suggesting that your company hold a workshop on the topic could help empower more women in your company to speak up without the fear of being called “bossy,” “intimidating” or “aggressive.”

3. Use social media to educate your peers and/or to tell your own story.

Everyone’s on it, and you’re most likely already spending a few extra minutes every day scrolling through Facebook or uploading your newest Insta pic. So why not utilize that time by speaking up about the importance of Equal Pay Day and equal pay in general? Tell your own story if you feel so compelled or just educate your friends and followers on the latest bills, policies or actions the government is taking either for or against equal pay. The more you know, the more you can do, right?