Americans say the pay gap for black women is real—just not at their company

Women’s Equal Pay day comes in April to represent the fact that women must work four months into the year to make the equivalent of what a man would have made in the last year. Black Women’s Equal Pay Day comes a full four months later—a stark, tangible reminder that black women are paid on average 38% less than white men.

Still, our research shows that more than one in three Americans are unaware of the gap or underestimate it, and even more are in the dark when it comes to the discrepancy between black and white women’s pay.

The first step to addressing any problem is understanding it. So, SurveyMonkey and Lean In, in partnership with the National Urban League, surveyed more than 5,000 Americans about their understanding and perception of the pay gap between black women and white men. Here’s what we’ve found.

The majority of Americans (62%) are aware of the pay inequity between black women and white men. Unsurprisingly, black women are most likely to be aware of the pay gap with fully 80% aware that they make less than white men.

Fortunately, mostly Americans are not resorting to negative stereotypes to explain this pay gap, and instead correctly recognize that structural and institutional prejudice are why pay gap exists. Virtually none think it is due to black women working less hard. What are the top factors people say contribute to the gap?

Despite general awareness of the problem, employed Americans refuse to believe that it’s happening in their own backyard: Six in ten say it isn’t an issue at their workplace. When it comes to their own workplace, even black women are more likely to say that no pay gap exists.

Even more problematically, hiring managers, presumably the people who have the opportunity to change this trend, are less likely to perceive a gap in their own workplace. Workers who make hiring decisions are more likely to say that black women at their organization make just as much money as white men (63% vs 57% who aren’t involved in hiring decisions). They are also less likely to say it’s extremely or very unfair that this gap exists (68% vs 74%).

On the bright side, people say they think employers are prioritizing the issue. About four in 10 (38%) of workers say racial diversity is a high priority at their company and about as many (33%) say gender diversity is a high priority at their company. With this prioritization, hopefully resources will follow, and companies will be able to chip away at the pay gap between black women and white men.

That’s why Lean In has launched a campaign to bring awareness to the impact that 38% less has on black women’s lives. They have partnered with businesses across the country to remind their customers that this gap exists and to raise money to contribute to women and families in need.

Many companies are moving in the right direction by prioritizing diversity, but for all employees to be at their best they need to feel that they are respected, valued, and a good fit at the company. That’s why prioritizing inclusion should come hand in hand with diversity.

An inclusive company culture allows employees to feel comfortable learning from each other, giving and receiving feedback, and speaking up when something is amiss. An inclusive culture helps retain employees and fosters an environment where employees care about equality of pay between employees—and don’t turn a blind eye to the problem.

How do you build an inclusive culture at your company? Start by measuring. Using our free, easy-to-use survey template, you can determine where work needs to be done to make all employees feel included and valued.

Methodology: For this partnership, two SurveyMonkey/Lean In online polls were conducted among a national sample of adults in the U.S. ages 18 and older. The first was conducted June 29-July 4, 2018 among 2,950 adults and the second was conducted July 13-18, 2018 among 4,217 adults. The modeled error estimate for both surveys is +/- 2 percentage points. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age eighteen and over.

Question text:
If you earned 20 percent less money than you do today, how would that change your financial situation? Would it be…
If you earned 40 percent less money than you do today, how would that change your financial situation? Would it be...
If you earned 50 percent less money than you do today, how would that change your financial situation? Would it be…
Which statement do you think is true in the U.S.? For doing similar types of work…
How much more do you think white men make than black women? For every dollar that a white man makes, a black woman makes about...
Which statement comes closer to your own views — even if neither is exactly right?
Thinking about where you work now, which statement do you think is true in your company - for doing similar types of work, on average…
As you may know, on average black women in the U.S. make 63 cents for every dollar white men make for doing similar types of work. In your view, which of the following are major reasons for this gender wage gap? (Select all that apply.)
What do you think of the fact that black women are paid less than white men for similar types of work?

Which statement do you think is true in the U.S.? For doing similar types of work…
How much more do you think white women make than black women? For every dollar that a white woman makes, a black woman makes about...
Which statement comes closer to your own views — even if neither is exactly right?
As you may know, on average black women in the U.S. make 79 cents for every dollar white women make for doing similar types of work. In your view, which of the following are major reasons for this wage gap? (Select all that apply.)
What do you think of the fact that black women are paid less than white women for similar types of work?
Which of the following factors do you think black women’s careers are most negatively impacted by?
Have you ever, personally, experienced discrimination in the workplace or while trying to get a job?
What kind of discrimination did you experience? (Select all that apply.)
Thinking about where you work now, which statement do you think is true in your company - for doing similar types of work, on average…
Thinking about where you work now, do you think racism or sexism is more prevalent at your organization?
Thinking about where you work now, how much of a priority is racial diversity for your organization?
Thinking about where you work now, how much of a priority is gender diversity for your organization?
Lean In|SurveyMonkey
LeanIn.Org|SurveyMonkey
*women *employees *businesses