Picture binging a show that has become your sole focus. Netflix says there's nine seasons, 20 episodes per season. You're watching the finale when suddenly, it just ends. There should be at least 20 more minutes. How could you possibly be missing the last 20% of this series? Maybe the reason is simply because you are a woman. Believe it or not, but women in America are missing the last 20% of their paychecks.
Funny or Die, Hulu, and Lean In recently created a video to bring light to what 20% less really looks like. Unfortunately, white women are paid 20% less than men and women of other races are paid even less than that. And the worst part is that many Americans are either uneducated about this issue, or believe that it is just a myth.
This video uses funny examples of what missing 20% really looks like. One woman struggles with her printer cutting off 20% of her resume, some women get 20% less coffee, and others only get most of the hair cut. I think one of the most powerful moments of this video is after the hairstylists fails to cut the last 20% of her client's hair she says, "Can't you just be happy with what you have?" I think this is one of the many problems with the pay gap. Too many people are either uneducated about this issue, or do not know how to help fix it, so they feel the need to settle for what they have.
Another moment that I think sums up this problem is when an employer hands the woman he is interviewing a job offer and then tells her that is the offer he made to a man. She will be making 20% less.
According to The Huffington Post, the U.S labor department has accused Google of partaking in this issue. If major companies that we rely on every single day pay women less for the same job as men, how will this issue ever be resolved?
Next time you are on social media, think about sharing #20PercentCount, and think about what your day would be like without 20% of food or 20% of your bed. It would make life a lot more difficult.