Wage gap
Despite improvements in some areas, American women still lag behind their male counterparts in earnings.
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the final quarter of 2017, female workers on average were paid $769 per week versus $946 for male workers, nearly 20 percent less.
Chandra Childers, a senior researcher with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, said some women are afraid of speaking out against sexual harassment and contributing to the #MeToo movement for fear of losing their jobs.
“Eighty percent of African-Americans with children under 18 are breadwinners,” Childers said. “So when your family is dependent upon your already low wages, it makes it much harder to be able to walk away.”
