Race, Gender and Equity (RAGE)

Race, Gender and Equity (RAGE)

More than ever black and brown women are now working outside the home, being managed in both public and private sectors, running families, and leading businesses, but workplace laws, policies, and salaries have failed to keep up with these shifts.

To put it simply, companies have stacked the odds against women and families. While companies maximize profits, working women struggle to make ends meet and face discrimination on everything from no-cost birth control and pregnancy to salaries and promotions.

Women voters are front and center in today’s political debates about the future of our country. But we know it will take more than female candidates for office to address long-standing gender inequity in our society and economy. Voters, constituents, advocates, and impacted women must take action in North Carolina and nationally to make equality a reality for women and the families who depend on them.

Shoutout to Stacey Careless, Esq!✊🏿Executive Director at @NCCounts⚖️Volunteer attorney with Legal Aid of NC🇯🇲Proud daughter of Jamaican immigrants
Here’s your reminder to join our Real Talk conversation happening TONIGHT Real Talk, Stay in the Know discussion. Wednesday, March 22 at 6:30 pm! Color or Health: Shades of Wellness We’re focusing on health and wellness, including the importance of accessing quality health care and the impacts of Medicaid expansion and the Inflation Reduction Act.#linkinbio #rage #realtalk #stayintheknow #colorofhealth #shadesofwellness #actionnc #fayetteville #durham #charlotte
A late congrats to Ruth E. Carter!🏆1st Black woman to win two Oscars👗1st Black woman to win an Oscar for costume design 🎬Worked on many iconic films including Malcolm X, Amistad, The Butler, and Selma
Join our upcoming Real Talk, Stay in the Know discussion. Wednesday, March 22 at 6:30 pm! Color or Health: Shades of Wellness We’re focusing on health and wellness, including the importance of accessing quality health care and the impacts of Medicaid expansion and the Inflation Reduction Act.#linkinbio #rage #realtalk #stayintheknow #colorofhealth #shadesofwellness #actionnc #fayetteville #durham #charlotte #speakerstba
We want to shout out our fellow organizer @Analilia_Mejia!✊🏿Co-executive director of @CPDAction🎥Previously worked as the national political director of Bernie Sanders for President🛎Former NJ political director of SEIU 32BJ
Today is Equal Pay Day—the day that marks how long into the calendar year American women must work to catch up to how much men earned LAST year. Looking for ways to end this inequity?1. Normalize talking about pay. Your employer cannot prevent you from talking about your wages or working conditions—even if they have a policy about it. Just don’t use work equipment (like computers or a company phone) to do it.2. Research and ask for what you deserve. Here are some sites to check out: Glassdoor, Career Contessa, and Salary.com3. If you’re an employer or manager:Perform an audit to find out if you’re as fair as you think, try testing your implicit bias and, make a plan that will increase pay transparency.Read more at: https://cardinalpine.com/story/women-workers-here-are-tools-to-get-the-pay-you-deserve-copy/
We’re starting the week strong with Bree Newsome Bass🎥Created a multiple award winning short film ✊🏿Arrested after personally removing SC’s statehouse confederate flag in 2015🙌🏿Life-long activist fighting for racial & gender equality, housing rights, and criminal justice#WHM #nc #northcarolina #womenshistorymonth
Today we’re highlighting the work of @judgeburkehayer 👩🏾‍⚖️Dedicated her life to fighting for justice across NC✊🏿Co-owned Ladies Leading Initiatives, an org committed to uplifting women business owners🎶President of the Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir#WHM2023 #whm
March 8, 2023 marks International Women’s Day, a chance to celebrate women everywhere and be reminded of the inequalities women face everyday. Here are 8 ways you can empower women:1 – PROVIDE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS2 – TEACH VOCATIONAL AND BUSINESS SKILLS3 – INCREASE INCOMES AND SAVINGS4 – BUILD SELF-ESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE5 – IMPACT HEALTH6 – BUILD SOCIAL NETWORKS7 – CREATE PUBLIC LEADERS8 – TELL THE WOMEN IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU CAREThrough meaningful collaboration, we can help women advance and unleash the limitless potential they offer to economies throughout the world.https://mentorsinternational.org/8-ways-that-mentors-international-empowers-women/#womensinternationalday #happywomensinternationalday #supportwomen #empowerwomen #womendeserveequalpay #womensequality #actionnc #rageactionnc #rage
Next up this #WHM we have one of the funniest people on TV: Quinta Brunson!👸🏿Placed on the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2022 list🏆Won Emmy for Outstanding Writing For a Comedy Series🥇First Black woman to be nominated 3 times in Emmy comedy category#abbottelementary #nc #womenshistorymonth #womensupportingwomen
We couldn’t post about Womens History Month without mentioning Natalie Murdock✊🏿1st Black woman under 40 to serve on NC Senate👩🏿‍🦱Sponsored the CROWN Act to celebrate and de-stigmatize natural hair💰Stood with the working class to support the Make Corporations Pay Their Fair Share bill
Impressive doesn’t even begin to describe #BelvaDavis 📺1st Black woman to become a TV reported on the west coast📔Received 2 lifetime achievement awards for her journalistic accomplishments🏆Won 8 Emmy awards🖼Currently serves on multiple museum boards#WomensHistoryMonth #blackwomeninhistory #womenpioneers #influencialwomen

Now is the time.

Women must demand the fairness and opportunity they deserve on the job and the right to make their own reproductive decisions without interference from politicians or employers. North Carolina elected leaders at every level must decide which side they are on: will they stand with women by taking action for freedom, fairness, and opportunity for women or will they stand in the way when it comes to issues like these:

Fair Wages:

Women make less than men in every state. In fact, American women are paid an average of only 78% of what their male counterparts earn for doing the same work. Compared to other states, North Carolina ranks 9th in terms of difference in earnings between men and women, even though the average median income for women in our state is $35,000, about 83% of what male counterparts earn. Unless Congress takes legislative action, the U.S. will not close the wage gap nationally until the year 2058. In North Carolina, the wage gap will persist until 2064 unless lawmakers take action.

Ensuring Women Can Their Own Make Family Decisions:

As of 2014, the majority of federal lawmakers in Congress and 28 out of 50 state governors have supported measures that restrict women’s reproductive rights, including abortion services, even though research shows that a woman’s ability to decide for herself when to start a family, how many children to have or not have and affordability and access to reproductive services are fundamental to increasing economic prosperity for women. North Carolina received an “F” in 2014, reflecting our own legislators’ failure to guarantee women's reproductive freedom. Instead of making it easier for women to succeed and support their families, North Carolina legislators have more difficult.

Modernizing Workplace Standards To Stop Discrimination:

In 2013, 70% of women with children under the age of 18 were in the workforce. In 40% of all households with children under the age of 18, women are the main breadwinners. There’s growing support for working moms but policies that recognize that women also have the responsibility to raise kids and take care of their families have lagged behind: Although three-quarters of women in the workforce will become pregnant while employed, there’s widespread discrimination against pregnant workers. In fact, one out of every five discrimination complaints filed by women with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is about pregnancy discrimination. States, including North Carolina, need to pass stronger protections against this kind of unfair treatment.

  • Only four states to date have passed statewide laws guaranteeing workers earned sick leave so they can take a day to care for a sick child or relative, but North Carolina is not among them.
  • The cost of childcare creates huge economic burdens for families, particularly women in single-income households. The average cost of full-time childcare for an infant in North Carolina is more than $9,000, which is 12.3% of a family’s income and 42.3% of a single mother’s annual median income.

Contacts:

Race, Gender and Equity (RAGE) is a project of Action Institute NC. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, IRS regulations prohibit us from endorsing a particular candidate or party. We do, however, work with legislators of all party affiliations and recognize the accomplishments of politicians who have helped propose or pass legislation in furtherance of our policy objectives, regardless of their party.