Discussions about pay inequality and the so-called wage gap tend to focus on sex — that women are paid only a percentage of what their similarly qualified male counterparts earn in the same line of work.
Numbers do back up the notion. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show in 2013, white women were earning 78 cents for every dollar their white male colleagues brought in. But what’s key in this statistic is the word “white” — the numbers go further to illustrate how an employee’s race compounds the inequality.
The same set of data from the BLS shows Black men, Hispanic men, Black women and Hispanic women only earn 75.1 percent, 67.2 percent, 64 percent and 54 percent, respectively, of the pay their white male colleagues earn.
While there are many factors that influence pay and can explain the disparity — such as access to education and lack of other opportunities — studies have shown there’s a portion of the inequity that cannot be explained by such factors, leading researchers to conclude discrimination plays a role.
Recognizing that discriminatory role, U.S. President Barack Obama issued executive action asking the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor to begin collecting more information from employers in the U.S.
In the coming years, businesses with 100 or more employees will be required to submit summary pay data broken down by sex, race and ethnicity. Previously, only federal contractors were required to provide that information.
The White House said more than 63 million employees nationwide could be impacted. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 69 percent (1.7 million people) of Indiana’s workforce works for employers with 100 or more employees.
Rev. William Barber — a national activist, board member of the NAACP and founder of the Moral Mondays movement — said the action by Obama is a positive first step.
“The president is heading us in the right direction,” Barber said. “We have to challenge this ungodly, sinful disparity that exists between the wealthy and the poor. And it’s not because people don’t work hard; the majority of the poor people are working poor.”
Barber said tracking the numbers is a vital part of identifying the problem.
“The president is saying, ‘I’m not going to allow (pay discrimination) to be covered up,’” Barber said. “We’re going to have to note it, we’re going to have to see it. Before we can deal with problems, we have to put a face on the problem … That is an important step, but it’s not the only step.”
Barber said when talking about the wage gap, it’s important to address sex-related disparities, but he said the conversation must include race.
“You cannot get at the issues that are fundamental to the heart of America without unpacking the racial and systemic racial injustice that exists,” he said. “Too often, you find people who want to have a race discussion, or a class discussion or a gender discussion, when we need to have one discussion, an intersectional discussion. You can’t separate disparities of race, class and gender. And race has to be at the center of it. Race and racism have formed so much of American society.”
Beyond addressing pay discrimination, Barber continues to call for action relating to the living wage, an issue Moral Mondays has been focused on nationwide.
“America is the richest nation and the poorest nation, both at the same time,” Barber said. “We should be paying a living wage. If the minimum wage index had kept up with the rate of inflation, the minimum wage would be somewhere between $18-$20 an hour..
“It’s a travesty in a democracy like ours that people can work 40, 50, 60 hours a week and still have to get public assistance or still have to choose between medicine and food. That’s not the America we should want.”
