NHPI EQUAL PAY DAY 2024 TOOLKIT

Join us in our movement to advocate for equal pay for nhpi women across all working sectors, regardless of immigration status

About

Wednesday, August 28, 2024, is Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Women’s Equal Pay Day! Please join Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) on social media as we work to raise awareness about the wage gap that NHPI women face and how they are often overlooked in mainstream conversations about this important issue.

In this toolkit, you’ll find information about online activities taking place to mark the day and how you can participate. We humbly ask that you share this widely with your networks and feel free to personalize the message to align with your own advocacy efforts.

Social Media Toolkit

  • For every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men working full time, year-round in 2022, NHPI women, working full time, year-round only earned 66 cents. The biggest wage gaps experienced by NHPI women are hidden in data that lumps Asian American (AA) Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander people together. #NHPIWomensEqualPayDay

  • The pay gap can only be truly addressed if we have full information on how it impacts ALL Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women. Information about each ethnicity subgroup should be collected and reported so that our caretakers are being taken care of #NHPIWomensEqualPayDay

  • Despite the gender wage gap, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) womxn remain resilient providing for multigenerational households financially and physically. All women, including NHPI women need parity now! #NHPIWomensEqualPayDay

  • Lost earnings due to the gender wage gap are exacerbating the effects of COVID-19 for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women—and for the families who depend on their income. These lost earnings leave our women without a financial safety net in this crisis. #NHPIWomensEqualPayDay

  • NHPI women should not have to decide between pursuing their careers or working to provide for their families basic needs. Often, many are forced to work laborious jobs that do not give them sustainable benefits or equitable pay wages. We refuse for this to be the narrative for our communities #NHPIWomensEqualPayDay

Pencil

Calls to Action

  • POST AND SHARE the NHPI Equal Pay Day social samples and graphics provided in this toolkit to your social media accounts

  • On 8/28 from 2-3pm EST/11-12pm PST, @equalpay2dayorg will lead an Insta-storm about #NHPIEqualPayDay where you can use some of the sample posts above and graphics below to raise awareness of how NHPI women experience the wage gap

NHPI WOMEN DESERVE EQUAL PAY

NHPI WOMEN DESERVE EQUAL PAY

Background

For every $1 earned by white, non-Hispanic men working full time, year-round in 2022, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) women working full time, year-round earned 66 cents, on average. Even when controlling for factors such as education and access to childcare, the pay gaps persist and start early in women’s careers and contribute to a wealth gap that follows them throughout their lifetimes.

  • Further data from 2022 also revealed that, all NHPI women earners (full time, part-time, and seasonal) bring home on average 60 cents for every dollar earned by their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts. When we look at the numbers for all NHPI women earners, the gap continues to grow revealing the disparities that can be found within our community (See Figure 1 Below). These numbers listed are a part of a larger AAPI subset.

    Median annual earnings Full-time and part-time, year-round (2022) Earnings ratio when compared with white, non-Hispanic men.

    We were unable to collect reports for a number of NHPI communities, including Marshallese, Chuukese and Palauan women due to a lack of data as sample sizes were deemed too small to be truly representative of their experiences. We also know that stories narrate how data is understood, and we will continue to advocate for COFA women leaders who are at the helm of keeping our communities healthy and safe. Most importantly, we know that there is no data on Queer and Transgender Pacific Islanders (QTPI) and must honor their agency, to advocate carefully and intentionally. 

    The impact of the pandemic has positioned our communities in a state of crisis now more than ever. While it has become common to work from home, the access to affordable childcare has made it difficult for mothers to make space for meeting the demands of their families and work. Additionally, when we look at young NHPI women pursuing college careers, they are often left with a dual between meeting the familial urgent financial obligations versus completion of a degree that could potentially support them in the long run. In recent reports, amongst the 30.5% of women of color over the age of 25 completing their Bachelors or higher, only 20% identified as NHPI.

  • [Vision]

    Each of us should be able to live, work, and make decisions about our futures without the burden of economic security. Fair wages and safe working conditions help ensure that NHPI women can live righteously for themselves and their families. 

    [Problem] 

    There are a large number of first generation NHPI women college students that are pursuing their college education but are still culturally expected to meet the demands of providing for their families, including financially. In most cases, many NHPI women are pursuing their Educational Career to be the financial support for their families and have taken on the task to work fulltime or part time jobs on top of balancing their Education. Much of this contributes to a larger drop out rate for NHPI’s across Higher Education institutions due to a need to provide financially over the longer term stability of obtaining an Educational Degree that can potentially provide a pathway to access to a higher paying job market versus without. 


    More importantly, these wage disparities are hidden in data that aggregates NHPIs and Asian Americans (AA). Further data that has been disaggregated fails to include PI subgroups due to sample sizes.

    [Solutions] 

    REST as a collective that offers spaces and opportunities for NHPI women to do so. In order to prevent burn out and dismantle “grind” culture, we have to embody internally what it could look like to embody self-care without the financial burden


    FUND NHPI youth led organizations that support Educational pathways for their youth to participate in and make college accessible for all


    SUPPORT NHPI women by offering financial support towards pursuing their Educational Degrees and allowing them to take paid academic days off in preparation for Midterms or Finals. Additionally, student loan debt & the ability to afford a home or raise a family are big issues women face today. If the wage gap closed, NHPI women could afford to pay off student loan debt in 39 months, make 7 months of mortgage payments or buy 15 months' worth of food.


    OFFER more scholarships that are dedicated to NHPI specific groups and on campus job opportunities


    DISAGGREGATE the data to include ALL NHPI subgroups such as Marshallese, Chuukese, Palauan and Yapese communities

    Additionally, we need comprehensive equal pay policies that would help break harmful patterns of pay discrimination and strengthen workplace protections for all NHPI women. 

    [Core message] NHPI women on average earn 66 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men for doing the same work. Women are burnt out from having to be caretakers for their families while maintaining a career that they enjoy. 


    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 NHPI 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.

    • Our wages touch every part of our lives–our ability to access health care, make decisions about if and when to start a family, and support the people who depend on us.

      • From health care to restaurant workers, NHPI women are risking their lives for their jobs and being paid less than their male counterparts. NHPI women are overrepresented in the most poorly paid jobs in the nation and for them, the wage gap is even wider. 

      • High unemployment rates are putting NHPI 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 NHPI communities. Each NHPI 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 share public disaggregated information about our community. Implementation of Statistical Policy Directive 15 (SPD 15) is absolutely crucial. 

      • Aggregated data has created a misleading narrative that all NHPIs 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.