Sometimes, women and minorities don't receive equal pay for doing the same job as their male or white counterparts. On a broader level, because socialization in America is not free from sex or race bias, we continue to wrestle with stereotypes about women and minorities, including stereotypes about what kind of work is appropriate for women and the importance of their jobs. In addition, our country has not made the same choices available to everyone, so it is much harder for those at the bottom of the economic scale to get ahead. When looking exclusively at the earnings for women of color, the wage gap is even worse. Men of color also experience wage disparities.
Many factors contribute to the wage gap.
Certainly, factors such as time in the workforce, education and occupational differences all play a part in defining wage gaps. However, when parking lot attendants are paid more than child care workers, we know the work women do is undervalued. That compromises the well-being of families today and the security of retirement tomorrow. This year, Equal Pay Day will be observed by thousands of local advocates on Tuesday, April 3, 2001. Tuesday symbolizes the day when women's wages catch up to men's wages from the previous week.