GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The YWCA of Greater Green Bay is raising awareness about the gender pay gap and other issues facing women in the workplace this week through a virtual board game. The event is part of the YWCA's Stand Against Racism initiative, which aims to highlight inequities in the community.
The game allows players to put themselves in someone else's shoes by playing as a character. Players scan a QR code at each "stop" of the game, which takes them to a webpage where they can learn about different obstacles facing their character and ways that they can take action. Topics include the motherhood penalty, the unemployment penalty, and gender segregation in industries.
"There are four different characters that you can follow through and it will tell you based on your character how life treats you in certain situations, when it comes to childcare, when it comes to what wages you can make," said Valerie George, the YWCA director of communications and fund development.
According to the most recent data from the National Women’s Law Center, women working full time made 83 cents for every dollar paid to men. That 17 cent loss adds up to $10,435 a year. To put that in perspective, that amount that could pay for more than 9 months of rent, nearly 13 months' worth of groceries, or a year's worth of child care costs.
That's in reference to what's called an uncontrolled pay gap, which compares all working men's salaries to all working women salaries. The controlled pay gap, which compares a man and woman working the same job, is 99 cents for every dollar a man makes.
While the controlled pay gap represents significant progress, it also doesn't account for the opportunity wage gap between men and women, as women are still more likely to work in lower paying fields.
"There's really a difference in that men have more opportunity still in the workplace," said Sarah Stumpf, who participated in the game Thursday. "Women end up having more of the impacts, like impacts of family care or leaving to have children, or when you move women are more impacted by moves and going back into the workplace at the same level they left."
The YWCA hopes to not only educate the public about the issues facing women in the workforce, but also call them to action.
“Some of our stops are action stops which really give you a super easy way to take action against racism right here in the park," said Andrea Huggenvik, the YWCA social justice programs specialist. "You can write a letter to a Senator, you can donate a book to a childcare center, some really easy ways to close the race and gender pay gap.”
The YWCA will be at Jackson Square Park Friday from 10 a.m to 6.pm and April 29th and 30th from 10 a.m to 1 p.m.
