It seems sadly appropriate to observe Equal Pay Day and the death of civil rights leader Dorothy Height at the same time. I wonder, when Dorothy Height began advocating for equal rights in the 1930s, whether she thought we would still see such a deep disparity in pay based on gender and race in the year 2010. For today is the day when the average woman's combined earnings for 2009 and 2010 equals the typical man's pay in 2009 alone. We still make 77 cents for every dollar a similar man earns, and the divide is even deeper for women of color.
If you're not familiar with Dorothy Height's work, you should be. She marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King and stood on the platform during his "I Have a Dream" speech. She led the National Council of Negro Women from 1957 to 1988. President Barack Obama mourned her passing today in a statement that called her "the only woman at the highest level of the civil rights movement."
Her departure raises the question, who are the next generation of activities in the fight for equality in all arenas in life, regardless of gender, race, religion, disability or other difference? Some people argue that the battle is won, that women make less than men because of choices we've made to take the mommy track or seek flexible hours. Well, nobody chooses the skin color they're born with -- and that pay gap persists.
What thoughts occur to you as we witness the passing of Dorothy Height and the continuation of pay inequity? Please share!
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