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The Facts
Black women are paid 58 cents for every dollar a white man makes. That means this year a Black woman would have to work an extra nine months to make the same amount. Over a lifetime, this adds up to over $1 million in earnings lost to the wage gap.
Black women experience a wage gap at every education level, and the gap is largest for the most educated Black women. Black women have the highest student loan debt of any racial or ethnic group, but among doctorate degree holders, Black women typically make 60 percent of what their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts are paid.
Older workers also face an even larger pay gap from age 45-64, a critical time for women to save and invest for retirement.
Negotiation Tips
On average, Black women lose a million dollars to the wage gap, many times losing out on pay during the negotiation process. Here are some tips for negotiating for what you deserve.
Employer Practices
Pay Transparency solves one factor that contributes to the wage gap- secrecy. Being clear about how much employees make and the processes and factors that contribute to salaries can help women and people of color know exactly how much they should be making. Here’s some more info about pay transparency.
Research: The Unintended Consequences of Pay Transparency
The Entirely Predictable Impact of Salary Transparency
Counteracting Negotiation Biases Like Race and Gender in the Workplace