Women Of Color Will Not Be Sidelined In The #MeToo Movement
Dariely Rodriguez, Director of the Economic Justice Project and Kimberly Tignor, Director of Public Policy
This year, Super Bowl advertisers noticeably failed to address gender inequality. During last year’s Super Bowl, however, Audi aired a moving ad committing the company to equal pay for equal work. The ad ends with a father pondering whether he will eventually be able to tell his daughter that she is valued as much as, if not more than, a man. Absent from these conversations are women of color, who are most deeply impacted by discrimination.
We cannot help but ask when, if ever, will we be able to tell our daughters, sisters, nieces, and grand-daughters of color that they too are valued as much a man.
From the Women’s March to #TimesUp, this past year has signaled a renaissance of the women’s movement but repeatedly women of color have been an afterthought to the conversation. An African-American social activist, Tarana Burke created #MeToo a decade ago as part of her work building solidarity among young survivors of harassment and assault. Yet, initially it was Alyssa Milano who received credit for the term when she revealed the harassment she faced at the hands of Harvey Weinstein and encouraged women to also share their stories. While Tarana Burke was eventually credited with creating the #MeToo movement, her absence from the Time Magazine cover in October 2017 naming the “Silence Breakers” as People of the Year was a reminder of our painful history of appropriation and exclusion.
Women of color, who experience discrimination at the intersection of their race and gender, face greater barriers and fewer opportunities as workers and content creators at all levels.
In 2017, several states and cities enacted laws to help close the wage gap by expanding equal pay protections and prohibiting employers from asking candidates their prior salary history. The Trump Administration, however, is undermining progress for women of color at every turn. In August 2017, the Trump Administration halted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) employer pay data collection which would have required companies to report employee pay data to the EEOC. The Administration also recently proposed an egregious rule that would allow employers to keep the hard-earned tips that servers earn at restaurants. These actions harm women of color who are more likely to live in poverty.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will continue fighting for equal pay and equal treatment for women workers and creators of color.
Through its Creative Control initiative, the Lawyers’ Committee is empowering female entrepreneurs and creatives of color with knowledge and access to intellectual property expertise so that they can protect their ideas and work. And through its Economic Justice Project, the Lawyers’ Committee is resisting the actions of this Administration that is determined to turn back the clock on progress. A historical movement is underway, and women of color will not be sidelined. #trustblackwomen #TimesUp
