In the United States, on average, women earn 78% of what men are paid. And despite the almost 25% growth of participation of women in the workforce since 1992, women’s wage rates have hardly budged.
On April 1st, the pop-up shop 76<100 will launch in Garfield and what customers are charged will be based on their gender. In this case, men will be charged full price and women will be charged only 76% of the price—which reflects the gender wage gap in Pennsylvania.
76<100 is the first iteration of Less than 100—a traveling pop-up shop advocating for gender wage equality.
Founded by graphic designer Elana Schlenker, the idea for the advocacy project rose out of the inequalities she saw in her own line of work. “I curate a lot of work and also run a magazine called Gratuitous Type—in my experience with those along with my own experience with my work, I saw a lot of inequality with how we put value in men vs. women’s work.”
Each installment of the project offers work from exceptional women artists, makers and entrepreneurs from throughout the United States, priced to reflect the wage gap in its respective locations.
The wage gap varies between states with Louisiana being the worst at 66%, according to Schlenker. “That’s why we are going to New Orleans next.”
“It sounds like a lot,” Schlenker adds. “But try multiplying it over a woman’s work life, say 30 years.”
In Louisiana, using the current median income, that translates to women earning almost $500,000 less than men—without interest—over 30 years.
This number becomes even more egregious when we consider the fact that almost 10 million households are led by single mothers, almost half of whom are below the poverty line.
“Hopefully, this project can be the start of a conversation and a place for women to take action. We are also doing programming at the pop-up. This includes a negotiation workshop in partnership with PROGRESS—a program at Carnegie Mellon University,” Schlenker adds.
76<100 will hold an opening reception on April 3. In the Garfield pop-up, 40 women artists will showcase their work and all proceeds will go directly to the artists.
“I want to raise awareness for this important issue, but I also want a space that is positive,” says Schlenker. “This is also about enjoying the great work women are making.”
Want another opportunity to advocate for change? Make it to the Great Debate on April 14. Read more and sign up here!
