-
lifestyle
5 Steps You Can Take to Build a More Equal Future
Happy International Women’s Day! I personally celebrate women and their accomplishments and push for equality everyday, but I’m happy to welcome everyone else into the fold on days like today. And celebration is wonderful, but it’s also important to talk about what work still needs to be done. Because we have a long way to go before we can really feel more equal across gender, race, and all of our identities. So today, I want to talk about what we, as individuals, can do to work towards a more equal future when it comes to gender. This isn’t to say that individuals have the most responsibility, because governments and corporations need to do the bulk of the work. But that doesn’t mean we need to sit idly by in the meantime.
This isn’t to say that individuals have the most responsibility, because governments and corporations need to do the bulk of the work. But that doesn’t mean we need to sit idly by in the meantime.
Negotiate Your Salary
As I wrote last week, the gender pay gap is still alive and well. Ultimately, this issue is the responsibility of our government and our business. They are the ones who can create and implement equal pay policies across the board. But that doesn’t mean that the rest of us are helpless to make change. In fact, I think it’s important that we all push for change within the structures that we exist. One way you can do this is to negotiate your salary when you’re offered a new job and ask for a raise within your current organization.
Why does this matter?
-
You’ll never get something you don’t ask for.
-
You are the only one you can trust to advocate for you.
-
Your starting salary can determine how much you will make throughout your career.
-
Your salary impacts how much you’re able to contribute to your retirement fund; and how much of an employer match you will get.
-
Your salary can determine how much you’re able to put towards debt and other goals.
-
Women are increasingly the breadwinners in their households.
-
Your opportunity for the biggest salary increase comes when you’re interviewing for a new job.
-
According to Payscale, only 37 percent of employees have actually asked for a raise at work.
-
On average, people earn an extra 7 percent when they negotiate. That certainly adds up over time!
For more resources on how to negotiate your pay, check out AAUW and Bossed Up.
Talk About Money
It’s critical that we all start talking about money in all its iterations as much as we can. The more we talk about it, the less taboo it will be, and the less alone we will feel. Plus, we’ll be more aware of the inequality that exists around us. For example, if you’re being underpaid in your position compared to your male colleagues, there’s no way for you to know that unless someone tells you. There are certainly ways to talk about money at work that are respectful of your colleagues while still helping you to get on an even playing field. Doing this will also empower your colleagues to do the same.
But talking about money is important outside of the workplace too. The more we talk about our overwhelming student loan debt, the more we can fight against the astronomical costs of education as a society. The more we talk about crushing credit card debt, the more equipped we will feel to make a plan to get out of it, and put restrictions on credit card companies, while we’re at it. Plus, we can set our friends, family, and children up for success by encouraging them to talk about and learn about money so that they can feel better prepared.
Vote, Vote, Vote
The last several months of primary season have been exhausting. I think our elections are incredibly important and even I have been disengaging with the news during the primaries. So if you’ve been doing the same, it’s okay. However, it’s NOT okay for you to not vote in local, state, and national elections. Our elections and government might feel like a hot mess right now, but they won’t get better if we don’t do our part by voting. In fact, things are certain to stay the same or get worse if we sit it out. So it’s important that you re-engage and make sure to vote in all elections!
Here’s how you can get started:
-
Make sure that you are registered under your current address.
-
If you’re not registered to vote, it’s easy to change that!
-
Find your polling place.
-
Find out when your local elections are.
-
Educate yourself about how the candidates stand on issues that are important to you.
-
Encourage those around you to vote too.
Bonus points if you decide to run for office yourself! If you want support in doing that, check out She Should Run, and Emily’s List.
Advocate for Equality-Friendly Policies
Just because things are currently as they are doesn’t mean that they have to stay that way. I’m a huge proponent of pushing for change. We don’t have to accept things as they are, especially if we know they are wrong. That’s why it’s up to us to push our companies and lawmakers to enact policies that level the playing field for all of us.
These are just a few things we should be pushing for:
-
Universal Childcare. One of the things I worry about the most when I think about having kids is the cost of childcare. I live near Washington, DC and the cost of living is already high, so when you add in the cost of childcare, things feel pretty dire. I’ve watched my friends with children struggle with making decisions around childcare and pay an unbelievable amount of money to acquire it. This is one of the issues that forces parents (usually women) out of the workforce, because it makes more financial sense to stay home than to work. Implementing affordable childcare for all would take a lot of emotional, mental, and financial stress off of women and families.
-
Paid Family Leave. I say family leave and not maternity leave, because not all family leave is equal. Women are most often the ones who have to cut down or stop working to take care of a child, but they are also the ones most likely to care for an ailing or elderly family member. These breaks in work can be detrimental to the financial health of women and their families. The United States is one of the only Western countries that does not have paid family leave as law of the land.
-
Pay Equality. Yes, it’s important to speak up for our own pay equality at work, but it’s more important to advocate for pay equality as a requirement across the board. President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, but it didn’t actually enforce pay equality. In fact, it allowed individuals who face pay discrimination to seek rectification under federal anti-discrimination laws. This was incredibly important, but didn’t solve the larger issue of companies paying less to begin with.
-
Reproductive Justice. As I write this, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments against a Louisiana law that puts additional restrictions on abortion access in the state. Reproductive rights are ground zero when it comes to women’s rights. These issues signify a woman’s very ownership of her own body. And of course, this affects low-income women and women of color much more than high-income, white women. So it’s not just a gender issue, but it’s a racial justice issue, as well. If you believe in your right to make decisions about your own body, you should be fighting for reproductive justice for all.
Stand Up For Others
As I said above, different issues affect different people in different ways. Socioeconomic status often determines the rights and opportunities that we have access to. But when we are more privileged, it can be easy to put our blinders on when it comes to the problems other people are facing. The truth is, though, we all need to be standing up for each other. Those directly impacted by injustice are not always capable of speaking up and advocating for themselves. That’s why it’s so important for the rest of us to speak up when we see something is wrong and advocate for change, even if it won’t directly affect us. Because ultimately, oppression against one group threatens oppression against all of us.
Related posts
