Here We Go Again: Black Women’s Equal Pay Day 2023

Josephine Kalipeni, Executive Director

You know what I’m tired of? Every year, I write the same letter to the universe: it’s incomprehensible that women still aren’t equally paid and that must change. And every year, we’re back here, acknowledging how far into the new year a Black woman would have to work to make what a non-Hispanic, white man made last year. This year, Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is July 27, and I have thoughts about it.

It’s not just the observation of Black Women’s Equal Pay Day that angers me. No. It’s why we’re here that adds insult to injury. The bottom line is that the system of racism, oppression, and white male patriarchy that was ingrained in the fabric of this country since it was stolen from the Indigenous People continues today. As a result, many Black women continue to be relegated to low-paying jobs, undervalued and overworked, with no access to paid family and medical leave or paid sick and safe days to keep them afloat in times of illness or family need.

As a Black woman and a leader in the paid leave movement, I feel compelled to ensure that I work on behalf of all people so that everyone has access to paid leave. 

When slavery typecasted Black women as free caregivers, that stereotype persisted after slavery ended and to the present day, being built into policies and systems that have prevailed. It was and still is difficult for Black women to get jobs other than those nannying, cleaning, and otherwise caring for white people’s homes and families. And while most Black women continued to do so with no pay, those that were paid for their service were paid a pittance. 

Fast forward to today, and women still find themselves slotted into caregiving roles. At work, they’re expected to be professional and the office mom. At home, they’re expected to be mom, wife, and bring home the bacon. With more than half of all households being led by Black women, we are burning the candles at both ends and in the middle, and trying not to lose our minds in the process. (The irony is that if we do lose our minds, we don’t have paid leave or paid sick days to find it.)

What’s it going to take for society to wake up from this sham of work-life balance it’s been fed? What’s it going to take for the folks in power to realize that there is no functioning economy without vibrant, interdependent communities––that is, when individuals and families are able to support each other’s health and bodily autonomy in pursuit of our collective physical and mental well-being? What will it take for policymakers to realize that we all thrive when women, especially Black women, thrive?

We all have to work and it is clear that work isn’t working for any of us. I am tired––sick and tired––of waiting for rich corporations, wealthy white men (and women, if we’re being honest), and slow legislative processes to give me what is mine by virtue of my humanness: time to care and policies that support working Black women. When our human need to care for ourselves, our families, and our communities is held hostage by employers that don’t value or prioritize time to care for their employees, no one wins.

So this Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, I’m calling on you to join our movement for economic, racial, and gender justice and demand that everyone working be paid a family-sustaining wage and have family supporting benefits like paid family and medical leave. Alone we may not be able to force the powers-that-be to do what’s right by the people––but together we can unite in our collective experiences and demand a different future. And that future doesn’t have to be far! We can organize for and demand change now and see change next year!