The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Association of University Women (AAUW) PA have recognized the impacts and successes of PCADV’s work to raise awareness of the gender wage gap and show the negative financial and health effects on women—especially women of color—in Pennsylvania.
Their [PCADV’s] efforts show how the lack of pay equity can have dire consequences for women beyond its economic impact.
AAUW PA
Women in the United States earn 83 cents for every dollar a man earns. This trend is known as the gender wage gap, or pay inequity. The gender wage gap exists irrespective of industry and level of education and is even worse for mothers and women of color.
The gender wage gap impacts domestic violence in two ways. One way is that being paid inequitably and having fewer economic opportunities creates greater barriers for victims to leave abusive relationships and rebuild their lives. In fact, lack of financial resources is the number one reason victims stay in or return to abusive relationships. Secondly, pay inequity puts women—especially women of color—in a position where they are more vulnerable to risk factors that increase the likelihood of experiencing domestic violence.
In 2018, PCADV hired a prevention specialist, Aishwarya Sinha, to research the gender wage gap issue in Pennsylvania and how it impacts risk factors for domestic violence. In 2021 PCADV published its Pay Equity Report, which details the findings of Sinha’s research, examines the link between the gender wage gap and domestic violence, and provides action steps that individuals, employers, and policymakers can take to reduce the gender wage gap.
We wanted to identify for ourselves the connection between pay equity and intimate partner violnece in Pennsylvania. No information existed until we did the research and created the report.
Kristen Herman, Director of Prevention, PCADV
In January 2023, the CDC chose PCADV’s Pay Equity Report and subsequent work on this issue to highlight as a violence prevention success story.
Previously, AAUW PA honored PCADV with its 2022 Gateway to Equity Award. Kristen Herman, Director of Prevention, accepted the award and spoke about the importance of PCADV’s relationship with AAUW PA in pursuing common initiatives for the women of Pennsylvania.
Since the publication of the Pay Equity Report, PCADV has presented at multiple conferences, created and expanded partnerships with other organizations and community stakeholders to address the gender wage gap in PA, provided training on the gender wage gap, and launched a digital awareness campaign to spark conversations about the impacts of pay inequity. They continue to update their research and publish yearly fact sheets—including a new fact sheet scheduled to be released on March 14, 2023 (Equal Pay Day).
To learn more and to stay up-to-date on the latest pay equity work from PCADV, visit our Gender Wage Gap page.