DYK that today is Equal Pay Day? This national day which symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year originated in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity, in order to bring awareness to the pay gap.

Yesterday, the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization released their annual report based on U.S. Census Data, which found that median annual pay for a woman who holds a full-time, year-round job is $41,554, while the median annual pay for a man who holds a full-time, year-round job is $51,640. This means that, overall, women in the United States are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to an annual gender wage gap of $10,086.

According to the U.S. Joint Economic Committee, the U.S. economy is $2 trillion bigger today than it would have been if women had not increased their presence in the workforce over the past 30 years. And while there are major gains being made towards gender equality, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found, based on current rate of change, the gap will not close until 2059.

Oftentimes, this wage gap is explained as result of women choosing careers in lower-paid, female-dominated industries. However, according to the Economic Policy Institute, “these ‘choices’ stem from a lifetime of decisions shaped by economic and social forces.”

So, what we can we do to help close this pay gap, support the female workforce, and grow as an economy?

Here are 3 things we can do to help close to wage gap here in Asheville + beyond, including supporting female-owned businesses, STEM education for girls + more.

Encourage women to negotiate

Read the why, when + how women should negotiate their salaries.

Based on an experiment in which men + women had to negotiate their salary, research found that women don’t typically value themselves as highly as they should, and they’re better at negotiating for others than they are themselves.

Support female-owned + run businesses

Which shouldn't be hard, as N.C. ranks #7 in the nation for the number of female-owned businesses.

We see you Man's Ruin Tattoo, Heirloom Hospitality Group, Earth Magick, Embellish, Asheville Yoga Center, Pure Yoga Asheville, Buchi, OWL Bakery, and so so many more. (Like, hundreds more. You know who you are, you badass business owners, you.)

In Asheville alone, there is a strong network of programs aimed specifically at aiding and supporting the growth and success of Female-owned businesses locally like the Western Women’s Business Center, Women Entrepreneurs of Western North Carolina, and the City's Minority Business Program.

Support STEM + business education for girls

Do you have a daughter, niece, or student interested in how things work (a.k.a our future doctors, engineers, and programmers)? Check out N.C. Stem Center’s opportunity database, or the N.C. Girls STEM Collaborative database where you can search STEM programs by location, areas of interest + more.

Props to Buncombe County Schools for their “Project Lead the Way” program, which brings hands on STEM learning (including robotics competitions) to their elementary, intermediate + high schools. Which is lead on a district level by a woman (we see you, Crystal).

If you have a student at Asheville Middle School or Montford North Star Academy, science classes, automation + robotics, art + engineering, health career academy and more are waiting for them at ACSF’s IRL After School program (classes change per semester, check the catalog).

Finally, here is allll the info on how to engage girls in STEM, thanks to the National Girls Collaborative Project. (Bookmark for future reading, parents).

P.S. – Special shout out to Clyde A Erwin Middle School for having the only Girls Who Code local chapter we could find. Hint for next year, teachers.

On the business side of things, the first annual Camp Girlboss, a leadership + entrepreneurship camp for middle school girls kicks off in Asheville this summer. Info here.

The Wrap

While some of the wage gap does indeed deal with gender parity, 62%can be attributed to occupational + industry differences, differences in experience + education, and factors such as race, region + unionization. It’s the remaining 38% that we need to work on together.

Happy Equal Pay Day, Asheville.