Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)
Equal Pay Day
On March 9, 2021, we will observe Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Women’s Equal Pay Day. Please join us on social media to raise awareness of how AAPI women and girls experience the wage gap and increase visibility of work and wealth disparities in our communities that are often rendered invisible in mainstream conversations about the wage gap. In this toolkit, you’ll find information about online activities taking place to mark the day and how you can participate.
Calls to action:
- Join the Tweetstorm. On March 9, 2-3pm ET, @NAPAWF will lead a tweetstorm about #AAPIEqualPay.
- Attend the virtual panel discussion, “The Wage Gap and Economic Justice for AAPI Women” on March 9, 6:30pm ET. RSVP here.
- Send a message to President Biden asking him to direct the Office of Management and Budget to require all federal agencies to collect, analyze, and make public disaggregated information about the AAPI community.
Background
For every $1 earned by white, non-Hispanic men working full time, year-round in 2019, AAPI women working full time, year-round earned 85 cents[1], on average. Even when controlling for factors such as education and experience, the pay gaps persist and start early in women’s careers and contribute to a wealth gap that follows them throughout their lifetimes.
When we look past the average, some AAPI ethnic subgroups, particularly Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women, have much bigger wage gaps. Between 2015 and 2019, Burmese women working full time, year-round earned, on average, $0.52 cents for every $1 earned by their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. The “model minority myth,” or the idea that AAPI women are all well off and don’t need support, furthers the misconception that we don't need additional resources or support.
Our wages touch every part of our lives, from our ability to get the health care we need, to make decisions about if and when to start a family, and support the people who depend on us. The impact of the pandemic has been even more devastating for women making low and unequal wages, who have little to no safety net in a time of unprecedented long-term unemployment.
**A note about data from the Center for American Progress: This year we adjusted our methodology for calculating the AAPI wage gap to be more inclusive of PI women. In addition, we have updated how we calculate wage gaps for disaggregated AAPI subpopulations to ensure better data reliability by looking at a 5-year range rather than a single year. For more detail, messaging guidance, and a full index of disaggregated data please refer to this resource.
Policy Solutions
The pay gap can only be addressed if we have full information on how it impacts all our AAPI communities, but right now federal agencies don’t have to count detailed data for each AAPI race and ethnicity subgroup. The White House should direct the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to require all federal agencies to collect, analyze, and make public disaggregated information about our community. Information about each of our communities needs to be collected and reported so that our experiences aren’t ignored and we aren’t left out of the solutions.
Workers also need the legal tools necessary to challenge discrimination and employers have the incentives to follow the law. The Paycheck Fairness Act strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by closing loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work, prohibiting retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages, and barring employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay, so that pay discrimination doesn’t follow women from job to job.
Messages
[Vision] Each of us should be able to live, work, and make decisions about our futures with economic security. Fair wages and decent working conditions help ensure that AAPI women can live with dignity.
[Problem] Many AAPI women struggle to afford necessities including health care and housing because of the gender and racial discrimination that leads to unequal pay. These wage disparities are also obscured by the model minority myth and hidden in data that lumps all AAPI people together.
[Solution] We have to correct the misconception that AAPI women don’t need resources or support. To do that, we need to look past the averages that ignore the giant pay gaps experienced by some AAPI ethnic subgroups, particularly Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women. We also need comprehensive equal pay policies that would help break harmful patterns of pay discrimination and strengthen workplace protections for AAPI women.
[Core message] AAPI women on average earn 85 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men for doing the same work. Between 2015 and 2019, some AAPI ethnic subgroups earned as low as 52 cents per dollar. The impact of the pandemic has been even more devastating for women making low and unequal wages, who have little to no safety net in a time of unprecedented long-term unemployment.
Additional talking points:
- Even when controlling for factors such as education and experience, the pay gaps persist. They start early in women’s careers and contribute to a wealth gap that follows them throughout their lifetimes.
- The work of AAPI women and other women of color continues to be undervalued and underpaid at a time when the rest of the country is depending on our essential work more than ever.
- AAPI includes 50+ ethnic subgroups speaking 100+ languages & dialects. The wage gap is drastically different for each of those communities.
- Our wages touch every part of our lives, from our ability to get the health care we need, to make decisions about if and when to start a family, and support the people who depend on us.
- From health care to restaurant workers, AAPI women are risking their lives for their jobs and being paid less than their male counterparts. AAPI women are overrepresented in the most poorly paid jobs in the nation and for them, the wage gap is even wider.
- Women accounted for 100% of job losses in December 2020 and the recession has especially hit service industries where Asian workers are concentrated.
- In December, 44% of unemployed Asian women ages 16 and over had been out of work for 6 months or longer. High unemployment rates are putting AAPI’s economic security in jeopardy, making it harder to make ends meet and support their families.
- The pay gap can only be addressed if we have full information on how it impacts all our AAPI communities. Each AAPI race and ethnicity subgroup needs to be represented in data collected by government agencies.
- The White House should direct the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to require all federal agencies to collect, analyze, and make public disaggregated information about our community.
- Lumping us all together has created a misleading narrative that all AAPIs are well off and don’t need support. When each of our populations is represented statistically, a more complex truth emerges.
- Information about each of our communities needs to be collected and reported so that our experiences aren’t ignored and we aren’t left out of the solutions.
- Workers also need the legal tools necessary to challenge discrimination and employers have the incentives to follow the law. The Paycheck Fairness Act strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
- It closes loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work.
- It prohibits retaliation against workers who voluntarily discuss or disclose their wages.
- It prohibits employers from relying on salary history in determining future pay, so that pay discrimination doesn’t follow women from job to job.
Social Media
Hashtags: #AAPIEqualPay, #NotYourModelMinority
Join the Tweetstorm
From 2-3pm EST/11-12pm PST, @NAPAWF will lead a Tweetstorm about #AAPIEqualPay. Below are sample posts for you to share or adapt to raise awareness of how AAPI women and girls experience the wage gap.
- Today is the day in the new year that AAPI women finally catch up to what their white non-Hispanic male counterparts earned last year. #AAPIEqualPay
- For every $1 earned by white, non-Hispanic men working full time, year-round, AAPI women earn 85 cents. Some AAPI ethnic subgroups earned as low as 52 cents per dollar. #AAPIEqualPay
- Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women experience some of the biggest wage gaps. Between 2015-2019, Samoan women earned only 60 cents per $1 their white, non-Hispanic men counterparts made. #NotYourModelMinority #AAPIEqualPay
- Many AAPI women struggle to afford necessities including health care and housing because of the gender and racial discrimination that leads to the wage gap. #AAPIEqualPay #NotYourModelMinority
- From health care to restaurant workers, AAPI women are risking their lives for their jobs and being paid less than their male counterparts. #AAPIEqualPay
- AAPI women are overrepresented in some of the most poorly paid jobs in the nation and for them, the wage gap is even wider. Raising the minimum wage to $15/hr would make a big difference for them in getting by. #AAPIEqualPay #NotYourModelMinority
- Raising the minimum wage to $15/hour has never been more urgent than during the pandemic, with underpaid frontline workers literally risking their lives for poverty wages. #AAPIEqualPay #NotYourModelMinority
- The work of AAPI women and other women of color continues to be undervalued and underpaid at a time when the rest of the country is depending on our essential work #AAPIEqualPay
- The pay gap can only be addressed if we have full information on how it impacts all AAPI communities. Information about each should be collected and reported so that our experiences aren’t ignored. #AAPIEqualPay
- 📢Each AAPI race and ethnicity subgroup needs to be represented in data collected by government agencies! #NotYourModelMinority #AAPIEqualPay
- The wage gap is even wider for AAPI women who are mothers. We shouldn’t have to sacrifice our wages and autonomy to start or grow our families. #AAPIEqualPay #NotYourModelMinority
- During the pandemic, many mothers are being forced to put their own and their family’s health at risk to earn a living--all for a fraction of what their male counterparts are being paid #AAPIEqualPay
- We need comprehensive equal pay policies on the state and federal level, including the #PaycheckFairness Act! #AAPIEqualPay
- A guide to #AAPIEqualPay:
📊 utilize disaggregated data
💪 support AAPI leadership
🗣️ invite AAPI women to the table when making policy decisions
- Concerned about how your state measures up when it comes to Equal Pay? Track what's happening by searching for #equalpay laws through ERA’s Policy Hub and support in the fight for #AAPIEqualPay
https://policyhub.equalrights.org/policy-library-map/
- 🚨HAPPENING TONIGHT🚨
Join us for a virtual discussion on economic justice and how (un)equal pay touches every part of our lives.
RSVP⬇️
https://www.napawf.org/equalpay
- The wage gap for AAPI women typically amounts to a loss of $833/month, $10K/year, & $400K over a 40-year career. This means that AAPI women have to work more than 14 months to make as much as white, non-Hispanic men were paid in the previous calendar year alone. #AAPIEqualPayDay
- Lost earnings due to the gender wage gap are exacerbating the effects of COVID-19 for AAPI women—and for the families who depend on their income. These lost earnings leave AAPI women without a financial cushion to weather the current crisis.#AAPIEqualPayDay #NotYourModelMinority
- More than 1 in 4 AAPI women are working in a front-line job (26.6 percent). But AAPI women are too often paid less than white, non-Hispanic men in the same jobs. #AAPIEqualPayDay #NotYourModelMinority
- Today marks #AAPIEqualPayDay or the date in the new year by when AAPI women finally catch up to what white men earned in 2020.
This pay disparity is even starker for many subpopulations of AAPI women incl. Burmese & Nepali women who earn just half of what white men earn.
VIDEO LINK: pic.twitter.com/8XbawltW8f
Facebook and Instagram Messages
Today is the day in the new year that AAPI women, on average, finally catch up to what their white male counterparts made the previous year. Between 2015 and 2019, some AAPI ethnic subgroups earned as low as 52 cents per dollar. We have to correct the misconception that AAPI women don’t need resources or support. #AAPIEqualPay #NotYourModelMinority
Today is #AAPIEqualPay, the day in the new year that AAPI women catch up to what their white male counterparts made last year. The work of AAPI women and other women of color continues to be undervalued and underpaid at a time when the rest of the country is depending on our essential work more than ever. #NotYourModelMinority
From health care to restaurant workers, AAPI women are risking their lives for their jobs and being paid less than their male counterparts. AAPI women are overrepresented in the most poorly paid jobs in the nation and for them, the wage gap is even wider. #AAPIEqualPay. #NotYourModelMinority
AAPI women on average earn 85 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men for doing the same work. Between 2015 and 2019, some AAPI ethnic subgroups earned as low as 52 cents per dollar. The biggest wage gaps experienced by AAPI women are made invisible by the model minority myth and hidden in data that lumps all AAPI people together. #AAPIEqualPay #NotYourModelMinority
Today is #AAPIEqualPay, the day in the new year that AAPI women catch up to what their white male counterparts made last year. Workers need the legal tools necessary to challenge discrimination and employers have the incentives to follow the law. The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes that have allowed employers to pay women less than men for the same work. #AAPIEqualPay
Graphics
Graphics will be available in this Google folder in sizes for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. This folder will also contain a document with alternative text for all the graphics.
How to make images accessible for people with visual impairments
When you Tweet photos using the Twitter app for iOS or Android, or on twitter.com, you have the option to compose a description of the images so the content is accessible to more people. You can add a description to each image in a Tweet. Once you’ve attached your photo, click Add description to add descriptive text up to 1000 characters. Good image descriptions are concise and descriptive, helping people understand what’s happening in an image. For more guidance, visit help.twitter.com.
Instagram automatically provides alt text to provide a description of images. You can also choose to edit or replace the automatic alt text with your own description of your photos. This description will only be read if someone is using a screen reader to access Instagram. To see and edit alt text for a photo before you post it on Instagram, tap Advanced Settings at the bottom of the screen after you’ve selected your filter and edited your image. Tap Write Alt Text. For more guidance, visit help.instagram.com.
Facebook also automatically provides alt text that you can choose to edit or replace with your own description of your photos. When adding a photo, hover over it and click edit. The automatically generated text will be shown on the left side of your photo. Click Override generated alt text to edit it. For more guidance, visit facebook.com/help.
Research and Resources for AAPI Equal Pay
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, March 2021
Equal Pay Day
https://www.napawf.org/equalpay
National Women’s Law Center, March 2021
Equal Pay for Asian American and Pacific Islander Women
https://nwlc.org/resources/equal-pay-for-asian-pacific-islander-women/
Center for American Progress, March 2021
The Economic Status of Asian American and Pacific Islander Women
Short link: http://bit.ly/CAPAAPI
Disaggregated data video: pic.twitter.com/8XbawltW8f
Institute for Women’s Policy Research, March 2021
Asian and Pacific Islander Women Earn Less than White Non-Hispanic Men in All But One State
Short link: http://bit.ly/IWPRAAPI
AAPI Women’s Equal Pay Day Promo Video, March 2021
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, 2017
Still Fierce, Still Fighting: A Reproductive Justice Agenda for Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders
https://www.napawf.org/uploads/1/1/4/9/114909119/stillfiercestillfighting.pdf
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, March 2017
Fighting Invisibility, Closing the Wage Gap: An Equal Pay Agenda for Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders
https://www.napawf.org/uploads/1/1/4/9/114909119/fighting-invisibility_final-4.03.17.pdf
National Women’s Law Center, December 2017
#MeTooWhatNext: Strengthening Workplace Sexual Harassment Protections and Accountability
National Women’s Law Center, January 2019
How the Paycheck Fairness Act Will Strengthen the Equal Pay Act
Center for American Progress, December 2016
Wealth Inequality Among Asian Americans Greater Than Among Whites
[1] Center for American Progress (CAP) analysis of median earnings for full-time, year-round workers by AAPI subpopulation based on Steven Ruggles and others, “Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, U.S. Census Data for Social, Economic, and Health Research, 2015-2019 American Community Survey: 5-year estimates: Version 10.0” (Minneapolis: Minnesota Population Center, 2021), available at https://usa.ipums.org/usa/. Figures are based on women’s and men’s median earnings for full-time, year-round workers. White, non-Hispanic men made $58,000 annually, on average, between 2015 and 2019. Indian women represent those who self-selected “Asian Indian” as their race.