The first step in tackling any social problem is to clearly and completely identify what exactly the problem is. We have already discussed the impor-tance of looking at issues with an intersectional lens to ensure that we, as activists, voters and policy-makers, do not overlook oppressions and inequali-ties faced by those with multiple, overlapping identi-ties. Once we acknowledge the differences among women and recognize that not all women are treated equally—in the work place, under the law, or by so-ciety in general—what should be our next step?Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill aimed at addressing the still very-real gender wage gap in our country.1 According to The Guardian, the bill was intend-ed to “close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act, to make it more difficult for employers to discriminate and to establish stringent workplace protec-tions for women.”2 When our elected representa-tives fail to protect our human rights, what can we do? The American Association of University Women provides some suggestions for actions we can take. On the individual level, working on negotiation skills can help ensure women get the wages they deserve. Additionally, we can lobby employers and politicians to support equal pay. On the employers side, the AAUW says that “companies should know by now that paying workers fairly is necessary for legal and ethical reasons.” Finally, our government needs to uphold the promises it made with the 1963 passage of the Equal Pay Act: “equal pay for equal work.”3 And through all of these steps toward equality, it is essential that we take into account the intersecting identities of women and all people that influence every aspect of their lives.

In the U.S. On the whole, American women today are paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. The causes of this pay gap have been studied by economists for decades, and many theories have been suggested to explain it. A 2014 report from the AAUW sug-gests that the gap stems from the lower wages as-sociated with “traditionally female jobs” as well as the lower wages women make working in “tradi-tionally male jobs”1. Harvard labor economist Clau-dia Goldin, a leading scholar on women and the economy, posits that the wage gap is due to the fact that many industries “disproportionately reward individuals who labor long hours and work particu-lar hours,” an aspect of the labor market that disad-vantages women due to prevailing societal gender roles associated with child rearing2.

In Louisiana 2014 marks the fourth year in a row in which Lou-isiana has had the second worst gender pay gap in America, with Louisiana women making 67 cents to a man’s dollar (following Wyoming, where women only make 64% of what men do).3 These numbers are even worse for minority women in the state.!

Intersectionality and the

Wage Gap in Louisiana

The Gender Wage Gap Today Moving Forward

You’ve probably heard a shocking statistic in the news recently: “a woman makes 77 cents to a man’s dollar.” This fact has been getting publicity in recent weeks as the Paycheck Fairness Act was proposed and shot down in the United States Congress1. While this alone is completely unacceptable, simplifying the issue in this way may obscure even more severe inequalities in earnings in the U.S. today. For example, Lou-isiana has the second highest wage gap between men and women in the country2—but this in-equality becomes even more pronounced when we take into account issues of race.1 Timm, J. (2014, April 9). Senate GOP blocks equal pay bill. MSNBC. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from www.msnbc.com.2 American Association of University Women. (2014). The simple truth about the gender pay gap (2014 ed.). Washington, DC.

1 American Association of University Women. (2014). The simple truth about the gender pay gap (2014 ed.). Washington, DC.2 Goldin, C. (2014). A grand gender convergence: its last chapter. American Economic Review, 104(4), 1091-1119.3 Louisiana Fair Pay Task Force. (2014). Louisiana Fair Pay Task Force report: pursuant to HCR No. 145. Baton Rouge.

In no state in the US do women make the same wage as men, and Louisiana is ranked among those with the highest inequality. 1 Timm, J. (2014, April 9). Senate GOP blocks equal pay bill. MSNBC.

Retrieved April 20, 2014, from www.msnbc.com.2 McVeigh, K. (2014, April 8). Equal pay for US women taken up by Senate as study highlights gender gap. The Guardian. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from www.theguardian.com3 American Association of University Women. (2014). The simple truth about the gender pay gap (2014 ed.). Washington, DC.

“Intersectionality” is an important concept in academic and activist feminist circles—those who seek justice and equality for all must recognize the significance intersecting identities have in the privilege of some and the oppres-sion of others. Treating race, gender, class or sexuality as isolated issues disadvantages individuals who experience oppression on multiple levels due to their multiple, marginalized identities. Kimberle Crenshaw explains that “many of the expe-riences Black women face are not subsumed within the tradi-tional boundaries of race or gender discrimination as these boundaries are currently understood, and . . . the intersection of racism and sexism factors into Black women’s lives in ways that cannot be captured wholly by looking at the race or gender di-mensions of those experiences separately.”1,2 When the news

media reports that women make 77 cents to a man’s dollar—and when policymak-ers used these simplified sta-tistics to design policy—the embodied realities of many individuals who face oppres-sions other than (and in addi-tion to) gender discrimination in the workplace are ob-scured. In the United States, African American women

earn 66 cents for every dollar paid to men in general, and that number shrinks to only 64 cents to a dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. Hispanic women make even less, earning only 58 cents to the dollar paid to all men and 54 cents to every dollar paid to white men.3 In Louisiana, some of these statistics look even worse, with African American women making only 48.8 cents for every dollar a white man made in 2012 (giving the Louisiana the widest wage gap between black women and white men).4 It is of course impor-tant to realize that, on the whole, women as a group are still being paid less than men as a group. However, without recognizing that some women earn less than oth-ers due to their other marginalized identities, we—as activists or sim-ply as informed voters—will not be able to address the systemic, deepening inequalities in our country, whether they concern the pay gap, unemployment, health-care, violence, education or oth-erwise.

What is the gender wage gap?The wage gay or the “pay gap” is the difference in real wages between men and women. Some econ-omists have theorized that this disparity in wages is due to differ-ences in skills or educa-tional attainment; howev-er, studies that adjust for such variables find that there is still a gap in earn-ings between the genders and that this gap also differs by race.1 In other words, a white man, on average, makes more than a white woman, a black woman, and a black man with the same edu-cation and skills. Still oth-er economists have theo-rized that women make less than men because women tend to work in lower-paying fields, such as teaching and social work. Again, this does not fully explain the gap: Har-vard labor economist Claudia Goldin recently showed that most of the gender wage gap stems from differences within jobs rather than from dif-ferences between them.2

What is intersectionality?“Intersectionality,” a term coined by black feminist Kimberle Crenshaw in 1991, is used to describe the different and related oppressions people face based on multiple and intersecting identities—for example, working class, lesbian, black, etc. In her landmark piece en- titled “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color,” Crenshaw argued that categories of difference “need not be the power of domination” but rather can be “the source of social empowerment and reconstruction.” She dis-cuses specifically how ignoring the differences among women ignores the ways in which women experience inequalities differently due to their varying and intersecting identities. She empha-sizes that the intersecting identities of race and gender for women of col-or have profound impacts on the ways in which women of color experi-ence inequality.

Definitions What’s Intersectionality Got to Do with It?

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241-1298.

1 Corcoran, M., & Duncan, G. J. (1979). Work history, labor force attachment, and earnings differ-ences between the races and sexes. The Journal of Human Re-sources, 14(1), 3-20.2 Miller, C. (2014, April 23). Pay gap is because of gender, not jobs. The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from www.nytimes.com

1 Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: a black feminist critique of anti discrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 139-167.2 Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241-1298.3 Kasperkevic, J. (2014, April 8). Equal pay fact sheet: beyond the gender gap of '77 cents for every dollar'. The Guardian. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from www.theguardian.com4 O'Donoghue, J. (2013, November 15). Louisiana has biggest wage gap between African American women and white men, study says. NOLA.com. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from www.nola.com

Credit: Rob Rogers/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette