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Tag: Equal Pay

  • Porn Star Sasha Grey Takes To YouTube To Support Equal Pay

    It has long been an area of contention that women make less, on average, than men do at the same jobs–an estimated 22% less, to be exact–and while that number has gone down by about 6% in the past ten years, the gap is still fairly wide in the wage war.

    An organization called EqualPayDay is working to change all that, however, with their annual movement to gain awareness of the problem. March 20th marks the eighth year in a row for EqualPayDay, a day on which “manifestations will again take place in various public places and in firms”, according to the information on their site.

    In order to spread the word about the topic, adult film actress Sasha Grey has worked with the organization to make a short video for YouTube in which she talks about getting into the business at a young age and the things she does in order to make more money than a man. The video contends that “porn is about the only way for a woman to make more than a man”. EqualPayDay’s mission, according to their site, is to “draw young people’s attention to today”–that is, get them to think about the future by doing what’s best now, such as getting a good education and focusing on a career plan. Grey, who is one of many celebrities who are active in social media these days, has talked about her role in various causes such as EqualPayDay and “Read Across America” on her Google+ and Twitter accounts.

    While Ms. Grey is proud of her own work in film, she also openly backs the initiative of EqualPayDay and the cause they support. The organization’s motto this year is “Close the wage gap: become a porn actress”, which will be distributed on flyers and posters to spread awareness.

    Below is the video, featuring Sasha talking about her experiences. Warning: the video shows a bit of blurry nudity and has language that is a little more graphic than what is usually deemed appropriate at work.

  • Google Doodle for International Women’s Day and Gender Wage Gap

    The Youtube video below explains that International Women’s Day (IWD), originally called International Women’s Day, is marked on March 8th every year. The way in which the day is celebrated varies from region to region but everyone who participates focuses on the political, economic, and social accomplishments made by females. The event began as a Socialist political event that blended cultures from Eastern Europe, the Soviet bloc, and Russia. IWD began to drift from its roots in many coutries and became just another day for men to celebrate women while the event was still recognized in the U.S. as a time to examine and discuss political and social issues and rights.

    The theme song for the Google doodle title “True Romance” by Kevin McLeod sounds like it should be used for a Zanax or Menopause commercial. I don’t know why, but this song makes me feel a little depressed. I also have to admit that it reminds me of songs from a Charlie Brown movie, placed during skits where Brown is walking around feeling sad and isolated:

    According to Washington Post writer, Michael Cavna, there are thousands of events worldwide — both today and throughout the month, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe — are staged to honor women’s causes and achievements politically, economically and culturally. And different groups choose different empowering themes: The U.N. says the overall theme is “Empower Rural Women — End Hunger and Poverty”; the European Parliament has voted for the slogan ”Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value”; and the hub website International Women’s Day has picked “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures.”

    The Sacramento Bee article “On International Women’s Day, Close in Gender Wage Gap Does Not Mean Progress” by The Institute for Women’s Policy Research indicates that a considerable wage gap still exists between men and women “the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that in 2011 women earned 17.8 percent less than men for a week of full-time work.” Women of color experienced an even greater wage gap, “black women’s median full-time weekly earnings were only 69.5 percent, and Hispanic women’s only 60.5 percent, of the median weekly earnings of white men.”

    While it is nice to have a day, it would be much better to get equal pay. That way more women could by cards, candy, and flowers on their own.