Happy Women’s Equality Day! Yes, it is a day to celebrate… with a shameless exclamation point! Today marks the commemoration of the women’s suffrage movement, how far women have come in our Nation’s history, and a day to recognize that the journey toward equality is still in progress. The date itself represents when congress certified the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, enabling women the right to vote, and therefore, participate in US democracy for the first time. Initiated by Representative Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 and passed in 1973, the U.S. Congress formally designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day”. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York.
Women have come a long way since our nation’s inception, to its great benefit. Day by day, women in leadership are becoming more readily accepted and normalized, and more women are graduating from college annually than men. That’s right, current stats reveal women dominated in enrollment and degree attainment in higher education in 2020… data still in process for 2021, but read more about this here: Percentage of the U.S. population who have completed four years of college or more from 1940 to 2020, by gender**. We finally even have a woman Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.
Achievements abound in many areas for women, but we still have a long way to go to achieve true equality, especially in the workplace. In acknowledgement of this fact, we want to remind you of a few things you should know if you’re aiming to advance your career this year, or even simply your salary. Women still earn only 82 cents on the dollar compared to what men earn on the same job. The pandemic has stifled progress in this department greatly, as women have been disproportionately affected by job loss and related challenges which you can dive deeper into, here: When Women Lose All the Jobs: Essential Actions for a Gender-Equitable Recovery
So if you are women seeking equity in the workplace through equal pay specifically, what can you do? Our most important reminder if you reside in New York, or any of these states, is this: It is illegal for a potential employer to ask what you are currently earning, or about your previous salary history during the job application process. That’s right, it’s illegal thanks to the Salary History Ban, which was passed on January 6th, 2020. This law was designed to help stifle the gender pay gap. The appropriate way to negotiate a salary is by discussing your salary expectations instead of by revealing what you’re current earning.
Unfortunately, many women don’t even realize they are being underpaid, but thankfully, so long as you can find an internet connection, you can learn a great deal about what appropriate salaries are in your field. Try glassdoor, salary.com or payscale to gain greater clarity on where you should be landing in your field.
Lastly, working with a recruiter can be a great way to partner with an advocate who puts your earning potential first. Feel uncomfortable navigating a salary negotiation? Clarity recruiters are skilled in doing this for you. Let’s get in touch if you’re ready to make a move. Check out our job openings across our site or submit a general application here.
Clarity Recruiting is a women founded, woman-owned, and women led business. We stand by our women leaders, employees, support staff and allies to ensure gender equality is met in our workplace.
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Please note that we don’t intent to denote a college degree is a singular marker of success, nor do we mean to cast out gender non-binary people in this discussion. We’d love to learn more about this and look forward to accessible data on the matter in the future. Clarity condemns discrimination of all kinds and is an EEOC compliant employer. Learn more about our Clarity Commitment here.
