Tuesday, April 10 2018 is Equal Pay Day. It was started in 1996 to highlight the wage gap between men and women. Now 20 years after it started, data shows women are on average paid 20% less than men.
The National Partnership of Women and Families used U.S. Census Bureau data to determine map the gender pay gap in each state. In Maryland, they found women on average make around $10,000 less than men. The gap was even higher for African American, Latina,and Asian women.
Maryland actually has one of the smaller wage gaps. Louisiana is the worst, there women make more than $15,000 less than men.
The National Partnership of Women and Families also showed how much more women could spend on things such as child care, rent, and college tuition if the pay gap was eliminated.
Laws have been passed to mandate women receive equal pay, but the problem still exists.
"Equal Pay Day" falls on a different date every year, because it symbolizes how many additional days into the new year women must work full-time to equal what men were paid working full-time the previous year.