If you've never heard of the gender pay gap, watch Corporate America get schooled on it by 4 kids.
How would you feel if someone shortchanged your daughter's lemonade stand? Probably not so good.
Maybe you'd first wonder, "What kind of schmuck cheats a little kid?"
All images via Make It Work/YouTube.
But then you'd probably want justice. And if you couldn't give it to them in that moment they're doubting humanity, maybe you'd turn it into a teachable moment.
That's exactly the idea with a video for Make It Work, a campaign focused on policies that can help working families. The two-minute film was directed by Issa Rae, who's best known for her YouTube comedy series "Awkward Black Girl."
In an interview with Essence, Rae explained why she decided to get involved:
“I was one of many Americans who just didn't know men and women weren't being paid the same. ... So I figured if I didn't know, lots of other people didn't know."
What she produced is a kid-friendly take on a problem affecting millions of women.
Daughters, sisters, moms, aunts, and grandmas are shortchanged every day by the gender pay gap.
For every dollar men earn...
...women earn less than 80 cents.
Today, women earn on average about $11,000 less per year than men for the exact same jobs.
The Institute for Women's Policy Research says if wage growth for women continues at its current pace, it'll be the year 2059 by the time we see equal pay for men and women. "We're slated to have flying cars and humans on Mars first," wrote Rae. "I wish I were joking."
But pay equality could take longer for women of color. For example, black women earn only 63 cents for every dollar earned by men...
...and Latina women earn little more than half of what men make.
The gender pay gap is leaving black and Latina women roughly $22,000 and $25,000 short, respectively, every year. Again, for the exact same work.
Sometimes, convincing our bosses and officials that the gender pay gap is wrong feels like pulling teeth.
When the perpetrators of pay inequality in the video are challenged, they respond with excuses...
...avoidance...
...victim-blaming...
...and logic even they can't defend.
Just as you wouldn't stand for someone cheating your kid at a lemonade stand, so should we be about the pay gap.
Why? Because "gone are the days of men bringing home the bacon while women fry it up in the pan," say the advocates at Make It Work. "The world has changed, and our rules need to sprint to catch up."
Watch Issa Rae's video for Make It Work, and if you learn something new, do working women and their families a solid by passing on this story.