Dear John,

Today is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, when Black women’s pay catches up to what white men were paid in 2019—a whole eight extra months of work later.

But it’s also Black Women’s Equal Pay Day during a pandemic. Black women, who are already set up to lose almost $1 million dollars to the wage gap over a lifetime, are also being hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. In June this year nearly one in seven Black women was unemployed. And Black women make up 11 percent of front-line workers, despite being 6.3 percent of the workforce overall.

We’ve known for a long time that the wage gap for Black women is fueled by racism and sexism, but right now, as Senate leaders STILL refuse to act to address the devastating economic impacts of COVID-19, we also know that Black women will pay an even steeper price for years to come.

But we’re not done fighting. We are not done raising our voices and shouting our stories. We won’t stop until we see a world where Black women are able to survive and thrive.

Here’s how you can join the movement for Black Women’s Equal Pay today.

Check out the Pay Me What You Owe Me art challenge on TikTok! Artists are making their own Pay Me What Your Owe Me art to show why Black women deserve equal pay. See more here!

Use our Instagram Filter to say: #PayMeWhatYouOweMe! Try it out now.

Join the conversation! Join our President & CEO Fatima Goss Graves, One Fair Wage, and other fearless leaders for a discussion on race, economic theft, and how the submininmum wage for tipped workers hurts Black women nationally. Fatima also joined Forbes for an Instagram live on their Ask The Expert series. Find the video on their account here!

Know the facts. Share the Facts. Check out our Black Women’s Equal Pay Day fact sheet. Then share our graphics with friends on all your social accounts with the hashtags #PayMeWhatYouOweMe and #BlackWomensEqualPay. Repost on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

In solidarity,

Arvia Walker
(she/her/hers)
Director of Campaigns
National Women's Law Center