Yahoo Lifestyle Celebrities Respond To Equal Pay Day In The US
Kerry Washington. Photo: Getty
Celebrities from Kerry Washington to Chloë Grace Moretz have come out in support of the US Equal Pay Day, yesterday.
The date – April 14 – was specifically chosen because it demonstrates how far into the new year a women must work (that is, an additional four and a half months) if they were to earn what the average man took home last year.
Despite accounting for 52 per cent of professional-level jobs and more than half of all college students, full-time working women in the US earn only 78 cents for every dollar earned by a full-time working man. In Australia, the stats are equally as grim, with men earning 18.2 per cent more than women. The gender pay gap in Australia is currently the worst it has ever been.
The national day saw celebrities come out swinging on social media. Kerry Washington posted on Twitter that “When we step up for ourselves, we create opportunity” using the hashtag #Ask4More.
Meanwhile actress Chloë Grace Moretz took a more visual approach – posting a picture of 78 cents in her hand (see it here).
Model Karolina Kurkova made reference to a quote from Amy Poehler (“It’s never overreacting to ask for what you want and what you need”, while Maria Shriver also threw her support behind the cause with this epic one-liner: “What women need now is to invest in themselves.”
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