Paycheck Fairness Now: Engage on Social Media

When we expand how this is calculated to include a broader cross-section of women, including those who work part time or seasonally, we represent a more accurate picture of how pay inequality impacts diverse communities: the pay gap widens even further to 77 cents. AAUW marks the different days representing how mothers and most women of color are burdened under an even wider-than-average pay gap. (See the 2023 Equal Pay Day Calendar for all dates.) The COVID-19 crisis has continued to reveal and exacerbate those historic economic inequities.

This time of crisis has made it very clear: A lifetime of pay discrimination adds up. The gender pay gap is dangerous and it continues to hurt our nation’s workers and our national economy. This year, it is more important than ever that Congress do their job to update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. This bill would take meaningful steps to help close the gender pay gap. 

The time to act is now. The Paycheck Fairness Act is being considered again and your members of Congress still need to hear from you. We call on all elected officials to listen to voters, who overwhelming support pay equity, and work to pass this important bill. To make equality a reality, we need you. 

Getting Started

1. Use the right hashtags. Include relevant hashtags like #EqualPayDay, #PaycheckFairnessAct, #EqualPay and #wagegap in all your social media posts for greater visibility. Take it a step further, target your hashtag to a particular issue to really connect with what is at stake (#MomsAreEssential, #WomenCantWait, #RaiseTheWage, #PaidLeave). 
2. Use photos. Tweets with photos perform five times better than those without, and good photos are priceless on all social media platforms. We encourage photos from your own life that are relevant and showcase your advocacy. 
3. Tag @AAUW! We look forward to sharing your content and recognizing your hard work. Make sure to follow AAUW on the following social platforms:
   • Facebook: AAUW and AAUW Action Fund
   • Twitter: @AAUW and @AAUWActionFund
   • Instagram: @AAUWnational

Sample Posts for 2023

• Today, June 15 is #LGBTQIAEqualPay Awareness Day—without enough data to make calculations, this day raises awareness about the wage gap experienced by LGBTQIA+ folks and people of color. #PrideInYourPay @AAUW https://bit.ly/3vPGDOl 
• AAUW & partners continue to push for the data we need to help combat pay discrimination. The LGBTQIA Data Inclusion Act would direct all federal agencies to collect critical data on sexual orientation and gender identity. #LGBTQIAEqualPay @AAUW
• LGBTQIA+ rights are #HumanRights! Demand that Congress pass the #PaycheckFairnessAct and the #EqualityAct to solidify protections against discrimination for LGBTQIA+ people. @AAUW https://bit.ly/3vPGDOl
• March 14 is #EqualPayDay. Women working full time, year-round earn, on average, earn only 84 cents for every dollar a man makes. The gap is even larger – 77 cents to the dollar – when including seasonal and part-time workers. Join us for a social media storm today to demand #EqualPay for all! @AAUW https://bit.ly/3vPGDOl 
• Women and families can’t afford to wait for #EqualPay. It’s time to pass the #PaycheckFairnessAct! @AAUW https://bit.ly/3vPGDOl 
• The gender #wagegap is compounded by racism. We need laws to combat discriminatory pay practices to ensure that women of color are paid fairly for their work. Demand that Congress finally pass the #PaycheckFairnessAct for #EqualPayDay @AAUW https://bit.ly/3vPGDOl 
• The gender pay gap is persistent and exists at all levels of work in almost every occupation. Urge your Senators to pass the #PaycheckFairnessAct today –  #EqualPay can’t wait! @AAUW https://bit.ly/3vPGDOl 
• Women, and especially women of color, continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing health and economic crises. We need #EqualPay, affordable child care and #PaidLeave now to close the pay gap. @AAUW https://bit.ly/3vPGDOl 

Talking Points

• The gender pay gap refers to the fact that on average women working full time in the United States are paid just 84% of what men are paid, and the gap is even wider for many women of color. 
• Despite federal and state equal pay laws, gender and racial pay gaps persist, and earnings lost to these gaps have exacerbated the financial effects of COVID-19, falling particularly heavily on women of color and the families who depend on their income. The Paycheck Fairness Act would take meaningful steps to update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to help close the gender pay gap.
• We need new tools to fight discriminatory pay practices, and we need effective incentives and assistance to help employers comply with the law. The Paycheck Fairness Act provides these tools by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and putting new protections in place for the benefit of all American workers.
• Women became half of the full-time labor force in our nation for the first time in the last decade, and three-quarters of moms are now in the labor force, more than half of whom are the primary breadwinners for their families.
• Black women, Latinas, and other women of color continue to be on the front lines of the ongoing public health crisis, risking their lives in jobs in health care, child care, and grocery stores; they are also being paid less than their male counterparts.
• The gender pay gap exists for every age group, in nearly every profession, and widens over a woman’s lifetime. It even follows women into retirement, due to lower retirement savings and pension benefits.
• Lost earnings due the wage gap not only leave women without a financial cushion to weather the current crisis, but also make it harder for them to build wealth, contributing to racial and gender wealth gaps and creating barriers to families’ economic prosperity.
• We cannot build back an economy that works for everyone without ensuring that all women can work with equality, safety, and dignity, starting with pay equity.
• I/we urge all members of Congress to cosponsor and support the Paycheck Fairness Act. This critical legislation can help women, their families, and our overall economy rebound from the current crisis by guaranteeing equal pay for equal work.