Each week Politini gives you the scoop on why the headlines matter.
While women make up half of the current workforce and have become the breadwinners in 40 percent of American households, their compensation is not equal to their male counterparts. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, if our country remains on its current path women will not reach pay equity until 2058.
While we’ve all heard the sound bite that “when women succeed, entire communities succeed” the reality is our policies haven’t matched the rhetoric—that is, until this week. President Obama took a step towards making equal pay for equal work a reality when he signed two executive orders aimed at decreasing the gender gap. The Obama administration’s executive action forces federal contractors to let their workers discuss their earnings with one another and to disclose more information about what their employees earn.
Now, we all know that Beyoncé has been preaching women’s empowerment for quite some time — from “Bills, Bills, Bills” to “Flawless” — she sings about the importance of women not only owning their voice but managing their money as well. The Queen is very aware that money, power and respect are intricately tied to gender.
In this episode of Politini we use Beyoncé’s songs and lyrics to explain why pay equity matters and why a woman shouldn’t have to hustle like a DIVA in order to get the pay she deserves.
Danielle and Aisha Moodie-Mills are executive producers and co-hosts of Politini, a weekly politics and pop culture show covering the personal side of politics every Thursday 8pm EST on Blis.Fm. Follow their musings at facebook.com/Politini, subscribe to their podcast, and visit them at www.politini.com.