The most damning day of Women’s History Month has come again: Equal Pay Day. Today we reflect on the fact that women earn an average of 82 cents for every dollar paid to white men. This year’s celebration — or rather commemoration — comes at a particularly difficult time for women across the United States. In the last year, 2.5 million women have left the labor force, many as a result of increased domestic demands and the rising cost of childcare amid the pandemic. Women of color, who earn even less on average per man’s dollar than their white counterparts, are experiencing heightened joblessness and bearing a significant financial toll.
There is clear progress to be made. At the Connecticut Women’s Consortium, we remain dedicated to lifting up women — especially women of color — as we push for an equitable system that bolsters achievement rather than shuts women out. As I wrote on the Consortium’s behalf in support of Senate Bill 761: An Act Permitting the use of Citizens' election Program Grant Funds to Offset a Participating Candidate's Childcare Costs, we need to prioritize ending the gender gap and boosting women out of professional obscurity.
To recognize the symbolic importance of March 24th, I interviewed the Consortium’s executive director Colette Anderson on her thoughts about women’s workplace potential, steps she takes to address inequity, and what progress she has seen throughout her career.