August 28, 2019- VoyageATL
May 17, 2019- I AM Moon Power
October 20, 2018: Featured Guest on GWADE Radio :
DID YOU KNOW?
In Georgia – Black & Latina women are the largest Group in Poverty
Even in states with large populations of Black women in the workforce, rampant wage disparities persist, with potentially devastating consequences for Black women and families.
- In the 25 states (including the District of Columbia) with the largest numbers of Black women working full time, year-round, pay for Black women ranges from 48 to 68 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men in those states.
- Of these 25 states, Texas and Georgia have the largest populations of Black women working full time, year-round. Black women in Texas are paid 58 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, and Black women in Georgia are paid 62 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.
Goal – Purpose – Vision
- Our goal is to celebrate the resilient, innovative spirit of the Passionate Engaged Activists, Resisting Limitations (PEARL girls) in our world
- Our purpose is to provide an inclusive digital space for black women to connect. Our experiences are unique. Let’s share them every day.
- Our vision is to highlight issues important to black women and reject all negative stereotypes and misrepresentations.
Melanated Pearl Corporation [MPC] is a nonprofit that assists women; black women in particular, to set and accomplish personal and professional success by providing a virtual digital space to seek, connect and advise thereby transforming our collect experiences into a collection of empires.
Why It Matters
On any given day, the status and position of many women in American society seems equitable to that of men. Barriers to basic rights and privileges like the right to vote, to own property, to have access to elite professions, to earn fair wages appear to have been removed. Since passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women’s pay has increased in proportion to that of men and sexual harassment is now understood to be discriminatory rather than merely the side effect of a “normal” working environment to which women should adjust. Moreover, women’s access and participation in higher education has increased.
Pay inequality and job segregation, however, continues and women, on average, earn less than men due to enduring cultural values about the worth of “women’s work” compared with the value of “men’s work.”
The combined force of gender and racial inequities and policies that present extra systemic barriers for women of color and immigrant women weakens Georgia’s long-term potential. Gender, racial and ethnic equity and inclusion must be goals of any smart and healthy growth strategy the state pursues. College-educated women who work full time make, on average, 25% less than their male counterparts who hold degrees, leaving women with less income to live and put aside to pay off loan debt or secure retirement. This missing money is critical to Georgia’s future since women are responsible for bringing in at least 40 percent of family earnings in more than half of the state’s families with children.
Georgia leaves behind more than $14 billion in potential additional household income for its residents because women are not earning the same amount of money as men in the state.
Leveling the pay gap can also cut poverty for Georgia women by as much as half, providing a powerful boost to both working women and their families. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), if equal pay for women were instituted immediately, across the board, it would result in an annual $447.6 billion gain nationally for women and their families.
It is expensive to live in poverty and the emergency financial assistance options are predatorily to say the least. For example, women in poverty report having more experience with debt traps. They may turn to predatory lenders at times to help them make ends meet or pay exorbitant fees in alternative check cashing institutions if they do not have a dedicated bank. Additionally, households with low incomes that are headed by women are subject to much higher housing costs than men. These households may also struggle to afford fuel for vehicles or to purchase transit passes in order to get to work. Additionally, women are more prone to poverty because women’s personal care items and necessities for their children are often more expensive than men’s personal care items.
