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National Indigenous Women’s Equal Pay Day

  • DEI Holidays & Recognition Days
A group of people sitting at tables with laptops, working together to advance National Indigenous Women’s Equal Pay Day: Closing the Wage Gap.

Close the wage gap with visibility, accountability, and bold equity action.

Looking for a quick, actionable way to observe National Indigenous Women’s Equal Pay Day? This post gives you a fast, DIY DEI tip you can apply right now.

National Indigenous Women’s Equal Pay Day marks how far into the year Indigenous women must work to earn what white, non-Hispanic men made the year before. In many years, this day falls well into November—nearly 11 months of additional labor for equal pay.

This is more than a stat. It’s a call to name how colonialism, racism, and gender discrimination intersect—and to take real action toward pay equity.

Why This Day Matters

A diverse group of five coworkers in an office celebrate with confetti and gift boxes, while two colleagues applaud from their desks, highlighting cross-cultural friendships on International Day of Friendship.

This isn’t just about salary. It’s about opportunity, recognition, and generational impact. Here’s why it matters:

✅ Indigenous women are among the most underpaid and underrepresented groups in the workforce.

✅ The pay gap reflects deeper disparities in hiring, promotion, healthcare access, and safety.

✅ Wage gaps compound over time—impacting retirement, housing, and intergenerational wealth.

✅ Centering Indigenous women in equity work challenges workplaces to address land, labor, and leadership in deeper ways.

This day is a powerful reminder: equity delayed is equity denied.

One Inclusive Celebration Idea

Four people work together at desks with laptops, while digital icons and charts appear in the background, illustrating teamwork, employee engagement, and collaboration in an office setting.

Try this inclusive activity to mark National Indigenous Women’s Equal Pay Day:

Audit Your Pay Equity Narrative Not Just Your Numbers
Here’s how:

  • Review your internal communications, DEI statements, and career pages.
  • Ask: Where and how do we talk about pay equity? Who do we center in those conversations?
  • Share a team message that includes this framing:
    “Today is National Indigenous Women’s Equal Pay Day. Indigenous women are still paid just cents on the dollar compared to white men. We’re using today to review how we talk about pay, representation, and equity—and commit to closing that gap.”
  • Include a link to Indigenous-led orgs like IllumiNative or NATIVE Women Lead to ground the conversation in Indigenous voices.

This action goes beyond the numbers. It shows you’re willing to center the people most impacted.

Ready to explore more workplace-ready tips? Keep reading.

Ready for More?

Would you like a more detailed celebration guide for this observance?  Join our Free Community Here
In our community, you’ll find deeper DIY DEI guides, a full diversity calendar, and workplace-ready tools to help you sustain inclusive, impactful celebrations year‑round.

Pause & Reflect

Five people are in an office setting, embodying workplace inclusion; two sit at a desk looking serious, while three stand in the background—one using a tablet and the others observing, highlighting cross-cultural friendships on International Day of Friendship.

Where is your pay equity work still silent and who pays the price for that silence?

 

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