Today is Equal Pay Day, and Twitter has a very mixed reaction to it
If you've been anywhere near social media in the last few hours, you'll be well aware that today is Equal Pay Day.
And while the hashtag is circulating far and wide, not everyone is fully aware as to why November 10 was chosen to mark this day.
Put simply, if you shave 14 per cent – the current gender pay gap in Ireland – off the entire year, you land on November 10, which marks the day when women essentially stop being paid for their work.
According to the Fawcett Society, women in their twenties can expect to be paid 5.5 per cent less than men while women in their fifties experience an i8.6 per cent disparity.
Twitter has been having its say on the issue all morning, and it's fair to say the matter is a divisive one.
It is #EqualPayDay today, or in other words "let's continue lying about the #GenderPayGap myth".
— Nic (@nicolasdg) November 10, 2017
Cannot believe that in the 21st Century women still earn less than men for doing the same job. An utterly ridiculous and shameful state of affairs. #EqualPayDay
— Andy Casey (@Gingafox) November 10, 2017
Yes, there are definitely some companies that pay less based purely on sexism and race.
However, the ridiculous wage gap statistics are nothing but poorly interpreted data.
Equally qualified people ARE paid the same amount, for the same work, in the same role.#EqualPayDay
— Joel Johnson (@JoelJohnsonson) November 10, 2017
#EqualPayDay it already exists. You don't need a day
— ReLLaKaT316 (@rellakat316) November 10, 2017
#EqualPayDay don't get it all these people claiming there is a gap when there isn't, if a woman was to do exactly the same job as a man for exactly the same hours shed get payed the same so what is it exactly you're complaining for? It sounds to me like you want extra unequal pay
— Cade (@caderhd) November 10, 2017
Well if I’m working for free I might as well do some online shopping #EqualPayDay
— Ellie Spear (@Ellie_Spear) November 10, 2017
