U.S. Department of Labor Blog
This year March 24 is Equal Pay Day, a symbol for the number of extra days, on average, women have to work to catch up to what men were paid the year before. Across the Department of Labor, we used this day to call attention to the factors contributing to the gender wage gap and to commit to strategies for eliminating it. Here are a few ways we got the word out about this critical issue:
Wendy Chun-Hoon, director of the Women’s Bureau, spoke with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff about the challenges working women face and the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to support them.
Secretary Marty Walsh explained why he is committed to ensuring women — especially women of color — get connected to pathways to good jobs as our nation rebuilds.
The Women’s Bureau updated their equal pay landing page with information about the pay gap, federal and state-level pay transparency protection for workers and a shareable toolkit with resources for talking about pay equity in your community.
Chief Economist Janelle Jones shared five shocking facts about the gender pay gap — including the fact that there is more than one Equal Pay Day.
Though Equal Pay Day is a helpful reminder of the urgent need to address pay equity, closing the pay gap will require concerted efforts across a variety of sectors every day. From increasing pay transparency and disrupting occupational segregation, to eliminating discrimination and increasing access to paid leave and child and elder care, everyone has a role to play in supporting working women and building the economy we all need to thrive. Together, we can close the gender and racial wage gap.
Alison Burke is the director of digital strategy in the department's Office of Public Affairs.