The Black Women’s Wage Gap Is Systemic, but That Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Change

Recent data from the National Women’s Law Center shows that while women in the U.S. make 80 cents to every dollar white men make, black women working the same number of hours typically make just 63 cents for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. And with median wages for black women in the United States at $35,382 per year, compared with $56,386 for white, non-Hispanic men, this amounts to a loss of about $21,698 each year for African American women and their families.