Diversity Celebrations - August 2021

August 3: Black Women's Equal Pay Day

The aim is to raise awareness about the wider-than-average pay gap between Black women and White non-Hispanic men. Black women are paid 62 cents for every dollar paid to white men.

Back in 1996, an organization called the National Committee on Pay Equity declared the observation of Equal Pay Day. The coalition of labor unions, professional associations, civil rights organizations, and individuals has been fighting ever since to open people’s eyes to the realities of implicit discrimination in the workplace and around the paycheck.

In the last quarter-century, the spotlight on inequality has become brighter and brighter, with a turning point in 2020 that at the very least made those oblivious to the situation more aware of the facts surrounding institutional racism and sexism, as a national dialogue about race opened up.

On average, Black women typically make just 62 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. The parental status also impacts the wage gap, with Black mothers making just 50 cents to every dollar a white father makes. The pandemic and social unrest about racial injustice have amplified existing inequities in America.

This year, Black Women’s Equal Pay Day falls on Tuesday, August 3rd. Why August 3rd? Because it takes the average Black woman, working full-time year-round, 8 extra months to earn what the average white non-Hispanic man earns in 1 year.

National Black Women’s Equal Pay Day now attracts and holds more interest and advocacy than ever. But there is a ton of work to do. Just take one of the talking points for example. There has only ever been one Black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company. By the numbers alone, that is a dismal representation.

Today, help spread knowledge, raise the outcry, and join the fight.

August 10: Hijri New Year

The day that marks the beginning of the new Islamic calendar year.

The Islamic New Year (Arabic: رأس السنة الهجرية‎, Raʿs as-Sanah al-Hijrīyah), also called the Hijri New Year or Arabic New Year, is the day that marks the beginning of a new lunar Hijri year, and is the day on which the year count is incremented. The first day of the Islamic year is observed by most Muslims on the first day of the month of Muharram. 

The epoch (reference date) of the Islamic era was set as 622 Common Era (CE), the year of the emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra. All religious duties, such as prayer, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage, and the dates of significant events, such as celebration of holy nights and festivals, are calculated according to the Islamic calendar.  

For more information please click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_New_Year

August 23: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

And the anniversary of the uprising in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) that initiated the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean. 

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, is an international day celebrated on August 23 of each year, the day designated by UNESCO to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade.

That date was chosen by the adoption of resolution 29 C/40 by the Organization's General Conference at its 29th session. Circular CL/3494 of July 29, 1998, from the Director-General, invited Ministers of Culture to promote the day. The date is significant because, during the night of August 22 to August 23, 1791, on the island of Saint Domingue (now known as Haiti), an uprising began which set forth events that were a major factor in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

UNESCO Member States organize events every year on that date, inviting participation from young people, educators, artists, and intellectuals. As part of the goals of the intercultural UNESCO project, "The Slave Route", it is an opportunity for collective recognition and focus on the "historic causes, the methods and the consequences" of slavery. Additionally, it sets the stage for analysis and dialogue of the interactions which gave rise to the transatlantic trade in human beings between Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean.

For additional information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_for_the_Remembrance_of_the_Slave_Trade_and_its_Abolition 

August 26: Women's Equality Day

This day commemorates the August 26, 1920, certification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote. Congresswoman Bella Abzug first introduced a proclamation for Women’s Equality Day in 1971. Since that time, every president has published a proclamation recognizing August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. – Women’s Equality Day commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote. It also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts for equality in all aspects of life, like pay, job availability, etc. In 1971 the US Congress designated August 26th as Women’s Equality Day. This is the Declaration the Congress issued:

Joint Resolution of Congress, 1971 Designating August 26 of each year as Women’s Equality Day

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States;

and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex;

and WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the certification of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights;

and WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.