The time was 2:38pm. While those numbers on the clock don’t seem like they should hold much significance, in actuality – it’s a powerful time that should spark the attention of every single woman, worldwide.


Our current society struggles with a pay gap that yields women making 14 to 18 percent less than men. Not only is that a huge divide, but the gap won’t close until 2186. (Let that digest for a second.) At the end of October, women in Iceland, a country that is known as the world leader in gender equality, took a stand and left their jobs at exactly 2:38pm, since that’s the time that they were technically being paid to be there until.

We should all be applauding them and their actions.

But, what does it all boil down to? As women, we’re technically working for free after 2:38pm. Free. And no one wants to be working for free, or deserves to be. As successful women, whether we are out working hard for ourselves or working hard for our employer, we have a right to be treated as equals and the pay gap is tremendously important not matter what our current job situation may be.

The pay gap is slow to close and is reported to take about 52 more years before we really see the fruits of our labor and a paycheck that is the same for both men and women doing the same job.

As a business owner myself and a mother of both a boy and a girl, it pains me that my children will grow up in a world where they could hold the same job, for the same company, and be paid different salaries. We live in a world where things can progress so quickly for the good, yet progress is moving so slow in this specific area.

At the end of the day, it’s not really about the money though, is it? It’s about what’s fair. Women in this free nation have strived to be treated equal to men for so long and have measured up neck and neck in almost every area – except the wage gap.

This needs to change and it should matter in a very major way to every female, whether you are out there every day putting your all into a career or you’re a stay at home mom. It all matters just the same.

What can you do to help close the gap quicker?

1. Support Pay Transparency

More often than not, we are urged to not discuss pay in the work place, which means that women aren’t always aware they are making less than their male colleagues. Supporting the Paycheck Fairness Act will enable females to reduce pay secrecy.

2. Support a National Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

Let’s face it: a majority of the caregiving responsibilities fall on the mother, who in turn are also more likely to leave the work force to stay home with the children. Because of this many women are discriminated against during the hiring process and denied certain opportunities. Men are less likely to face these stereotypes. Estimates have revealed that more than 10 percent of this gap is due to women spending less time in the labor force than men, so having a program like this intact would be very beneficial.

3. Help Pass a Paid Sick Day Legislations

With the same breath, not having to worry about taking a sick day to take care of a child or yourself hold tremendous value, too.

Moral of the story: support, support, support. No woman should have to be faced with this worry while starting her career.


WRITTEN BY

Allison Cooper