Celebrate, recognize, and compensate the contributions of women
March is Women’s History Month! In a lot of ways, Simpson’s story begins with women. Legend has it that in the early ‘80s, when the men of the Simpson United Methodist Church were seeking government approval to operate a shelter in the church basement, the women of the congregation were already opening the doors and inviting people in.
The history of women is impossible to separate from the history of nonprofits in general. Historically, nonprofit organizations have served as parallel, separate power structures where women could exercise their ability to organize and coalition-build outside of the mainstream working world from which they were largely excluded.
Today, the nonprofit workforce in Minnesota is predominantly female (71 percent) and relatively young, as in aged 35 and under (49 percent), according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. But even though this industry is pretty much dominated by women, there’s still a noticeable wage gap. Men make an average of nearly $3 more per hour, and women – particularly women of color – are far less likely to be appointed leaders of nonprofit organizations.
In fact, March is also the month we typically observe Equal Pay Day, which marks how many extra days into the new year the average woman in the U.S. had to work in order to earn the amount the average man in the U.S. made during the previous year. This year, it took the average woman 74 days to make up the difference, placing Equal Pay Day on March 15, 2022.
Late though that may seem, it’s actually the earliest Equal Pay Day on record. And the gap gets even wider when you narrow your focus on women of color. The gap between Black, Hispanic, and Asian women compared to all men actually got wider this year, not smaller.
Furthermore, there’s no data available for trans men, trans women, and nonbinary people.
Being more aware of the disparities means nonprofit organizations like Simpson can do more to correct them. At Simpson, over 80 percent of our leadership rolls are occupied by women. We have also undertaken a pay equity study and adjusted wages to ensure parity among women and people of color.
But more can be done, and there’s no better time than Women’s History Month to remember to honor the labor and ingenuity of women in all sectors of the workforce and beyond.
Powerful women in Minnesota History
In honor of this year’s Women’s History Month, TPT has compiled a few pieces on the stories and triumphs of women who made our state what it is today. You can further your education with the personal histories of three Anishinabe grandmothers, the first woman appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, Minnesota’s Black pioneers, and more.