By: Carsyn Cann
Fayetteville, Ark. (UATV)- Across the United States, women make less than their male counterparts for the same job. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women make about 82 cents to a man’s one dollar.
According to a report by Business.org, Arkansas ranks 31st in the nation when it comes to the gender pay gap. Women effectively stop getting paid on October 29th due to the national pay gap. In Arkansas, that date comes even sooner, essentially ending women’s pay on October 15th. Due to the disparity, women in Arkansas will basically work an entire month for free, while their male counterparts are still getting paid the salary for the same job.
Vania Greco, the Founder and CEO of The Little Candle of N.W.A., is a woman who started her own business here in Northwest Arkansas. “We have the store, and we pour all candles in store. We do do a lot of whole sale accounts,” said Greco. “It was honestly a hobby that just took a life on its own.”
Greco says that in order to succeed as a woman-owned business, it is important to set boundaries. “Know your limit. I mean it’s something learned you know,” said Greco.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there is not a single state in the U.S. where the average salary of women is higher than that of man’s. In Arkansas the average salary for men is $44,631, while the average salary for women is $35,467. This amounts to a 21% difference.
According to Sarah Alter, the CEO of the Network of Executive Women, one reason why the gender pay gap still exists could be because of how leaders in business have gone about it in the past. “So the problem is, and why we haven’t seen the progress that we need is because it’s always been an exercise of ‘I just need to fix the female leader,’” said Alter.
Alter says that it is going to take education along with action by male allies to close the gap. “You can’t just do a 30 minute video and say ‘Ooo voilà- I’m an enlightened ally,’” said Alter. This is something you have to work on. It’s changing your attitude, it’s changing your behaviors, it’s changing your actions.”
The Network of Executive has a local chapter that hosts networking events for women in N.W.A. Its next event will be November 9th featuring Transformation Adoption Coach Samantha Arroyos. Arroyos will be speaking on the topic of “micro-inequities” in the workplace. For more information regarding the network, visit its website at https://www.newonline.org.