Equal Pay Day 2020

Tech-nacity… Together We Are Stronger 

We’re living through challenging times. COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it, and millions of people continue to be impacted by the outbreak every day.

The well-being of all of individuals must remain central to our decision-making. Commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion continue to require engagement of the highest levels of organizational leadership and championing of policies that advance those values, especially when tested in the face of adversity.

Without intentional decision making, the strategic business goals of intersectional gender and pay parity could backslide even further during this crisis. Studies have proven that the more complex problems are, the more important having a diverse team is to create the best solutions. Now more than ever, as many diverse perspectives as possible will be needed to identify and develop holistic solutions and forge a recovery plan that will result in the best business results.

Today, Equal Pay Day, Tuesday, March 31, at 10 a.m. PT, Stephanie Rodriguez, Vice President of Policy & Engagement at AnitaB.org, will moderate an Equal Pay Day Facebook Live Event that will discuss how state governments, social enterprises, and private sector interventions have arisen in attempt to address the pay gap in lieu of federal action. She will be joined by Elyse Shaw, Study Director, IWPR (@IWPResearch), Scott Pollak, People Analytics Partner, PwC (@PwC), and Jordan Sale, Founder and CEO, 81cents (@81_cents).

Fifty-seven years after passage of the Equal Pay Act, women continue to face obstacles in fair pay, representation, and equitable treatment in the workforce. The images throughout describe the differences between the pay of White men compared to intersectional women , the gross difference of White men earning $100,000 to that of intersectional women for the same work, and the additional time it takes for intersectional women to earn the same amount of money for the same work in calendar years compared to White men.

Your senators need to know that pay equity is a priority for their constituents. Contact Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and your own state’s senators to let them know that you want to see passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 270)!

Intersectional pay inequity in the tech industry is less bleak than the national averages according to data collected by the job placement platform Hired, but that does not make it any more acceptable. STEM occupations are some of the most lucrative in the country. Muting women’s narrowing wage gap in the industry is the fact that men represent about 50% of the U.S. Labor force but hold 75% of U.S. tech jobs. Achieving gender equity is more challenging when women leave tech employment at higher rates than men, as indicated in the AnitaB.org 2019 Top Companies for Women Technologists survey.

There are dangerous consequences to the ongoing inequality in the technical workforce. The growth of a skilled technical workforce with a diversity of perspectives and solutions is critical to our country’s national and economic security, as evidenced by the ongoing global response to the pandemic. Worldwide implications have proven that technology is the future of all work, and those who are not included in the design and implementation of tech will be unable to access a secure future in terms of employment — and in all aspects of life. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that the people who imagine and build technology and its infrastructure should mirror the people and societies for whom they build it.

AnitaB.org is committed to lifting up and advancing issues relevant to women and underrepresented groups in technical careers and will remain steadfast in our advocacy to create a tech workforce that is representative of the society it serves, even in the face of a global pandemic.