Greetings!
I am reaching out to express my gratitude to you for being part of the Women Employed family. Given the constraints around “gatherings” over the past two years, I hope you can enjoy this holiday surrounded by loved ones. If anything, I’ve learned through this pandemic we can take nothing for granted.
While Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude for our blessings and appreciation for the love of our family and friends, I am mindful that the history of Thanksgiving is also a painful reminder of the brutality against Indigenous peoples.
The inequities that are deeply rooted in American history continue to persist. On average, a woman makes 82 cents to a man's dollar. When further looking at the data, Indigenous women face a persistent and disproportionate wage gap, making just 60 cents for every dollar paid to white men. Many other Black and Brown women face wider-than-average gaps as well—Black women make 63 cents to a white man’s dollar. For Latina/x women, just 57 cents.
The pandemic has caused an economic downturn that has amplified this. Job and income losses have hit women—and especially Black and Brown women—harder than men, resulting in the “shecession.” With you by our side, Women Employed will keep fighting to radically shift the distribution of resources, and make strides toward closing the wealth gap at the intersection of race and gender.
Thanks to the steadfast support of people like YOU—donors, advocates, partners, and volunteers—we’ve been able to push forward and make real progress:
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Raising Chicago’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, and ensuring it continues to increase at the same rate as the median wage
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Educating over 100,000 Illinoisans about their paid leave rights in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis
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Launching the Accelerating Student Progress and Increasing Racial Equity (ASPIRE) Project to increase the number of post-secondary students from underserved backgrounds who graduate with a degree or credential that has workforce value
I am grateful for YOU as we work to ensure women can EMERGE from the “shecession” stronger and more equitable than before. Thank you for supporting WE’s fight for transformative change to win the supports and protections working women and their families need right now and well into the future.
In solidarity,
Cherita
