It has been almost six decades since the Equal Pay Act was passed and the 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination in pay based on race, sex, color, national origin and religion, yet women who work full-time in the U.S. still make an average of 83 cents for every dollar paid to men.
The pay gap is even wider for women of color, mothers of young children and women with disabilities.
Black and Latina women earn just 64 cents and 57 cents, respectively, for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.
In central Ohio, women are paid 81 cents for every dollar earned by white men, while Black women make 64 cents and Latinas 54 cents for every dollar earned by white men.
According to a November 2021 study by the Pew Research Center, women are outpacing men in earning college degrees.
Why, then, are men significantly more likely to be executives than their female peers? What is being done to support and further women’s progress?
These topics and others be explored in the next Columbus Conversation, “How can we empower and advance women in Columbus?” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29.
Hosted by Dispatch Opinion and Community Engagement Editor Amelia Robinson, the free discussion will be streamed live on the newspaper’s Facebook page and published later on Dispatch.com.
“Supporting and developing women is critical to this community’s future,” Robinson said.
The panelists, all past YWCA Women of Achievement Award winners, will be:
- Sue Zazon, president, Huntington Bank, Central Ohio Region
- Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts, Health Commissioner, Columbus Public Health
- Janet Jackson, former Columbus city attorney, Franklin County Municipal Court judge, and president and CEO of the United Way of Central Ohio
- Barb Smoot, president and CEO of Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD)
- Sandra Anderson, retired attorney, Planned Parenthood board of trustees.
More:YWCA honors six as Women of Achievement
The 2022 YWCA Women of Achievement lunch will be held 1 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 27. The Dispatch is a sponsor.
