Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement in recognition of Black Women’s Equal Pay Day:
“On Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, we celebrate black women and their contributions to our communities. We also recognize that the fight to achieve equal pay for women often fails to highlight the unique struggles that black women face in the workplace,” said Cortez Masto. “I look forward to a day when equal pay for black women – and all women – is simply a given. Until that time, I will continue to work to level the playing field.”
Research shows that the average black woman make 63 cents for every dollar the average man makes. This is a larger pay gap than the one that exists between men and women in general, who make 80 cents on the dollar. Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is celebrated on July 31st because a black woman, on average, must work an additional seven months and thirty-one days to earn as much as a man would have made by the end of the previous year.
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