Today is Asian American and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day, which marks the number of days into 2019 that Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women need to work to make what white, non-Hispanic men earned on average in 2018. That means AAPI women must work, on average, two extra months to make up the pay disparity. Nationally, AAPI women make 85 cents for every dollar a white man earns; but the wage gap is even greater for California AAPI women who only make 72 cents for every dollar a white man earns.

The gender wage gap is a pressing issue that continues to threaten economic security for all women. On average, women working full-time in the United States lose $10,169 each year, which translates into a combined total of more than $900 billion every year. Fair pay could cover an additional year of college tuition, 74 more weeks of food, nearly 7 months of mortgage and utilities payments, or 14 more months of child care.

The California Women’s Law Center is dedicated to the fight to end practices contributing to the gender wage gap. Please join CWLC in our effort to ensure women are paid equally and treated fairly.

For more information on #AAPIEqualPay Day, click here.