A pop-up shop for gender wage equality

Tuesday 14th April was Equal Pay Day, a day set aside to raise awareness about the pay gap between men's and women's salaries. To help conceptualize just how bad the pay gap is in America, Brooklyn-based graphic designer Elana Schlenker has set up <100, a travelling pop-up shop for gender wage equality. Each instalment of the project offers work from female artists, makers, and entrepreneurs from throughout the US, priced to reflect the wage gap in its respective location.

The inaugural project, 76<100, focuses on the wage gap in Pennsylvania, where women earn just 76% of what men earn. Mirroring this inequality, male shoppers at this location will be charged 100% of the retail price of any item, while women and those who identify as women will be charged 76% of this price. Events held throughout the month will connect, empower, and promote local women and girls.

The project is not for profit, with all sales going directly to our featured artists. Schlenker also pays all the contributors and collaborators a fair wage. Later this year, Schlenker hopes to travel to New Orleans to open 66<100.

In the recent Gender Report, we crunched some numbers to get to the heart of career inequality. In the UK only 1% of jobs in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are held by women. Meanwhile, Fortune 500 companies with three or more female directors saw at least a 66% increase in return on invested capital. We also looked at the New Feminists, a wave of passionate young feminists, empowered by the possibilities presented by the Internet.