Life

We Searched For The $840 Billion Lost To The Gender Wage Gap

by Suzanne McKenzie

Losing stuff is just the worst, isn’t it? Whether it’s your keys, your phone, or something slightly bigger, like the $840 billion per year that’s missing because of the gender pay gap, we can pretty much all agree that misplacing things is one of life's greatest annoyances.

Yeah, you heard that right: Women miss out on $840 billion in income every year compared to men. If that sounds ridiculous to you, it’s because it is — when men and women do the same work, with the same amount of experience and expertise, shouldn’t they be getting the same compensation?

We (of course) believe that they should. But we wanted to hear what real New Yorkers had to say about the fact that women earn just 80 cents for every dollar that a man makes (a statistic that’s even worse for women of color) for doing the same work. And so we hit the streets to survey the masses and find out if they support the notion of equal pay for all.

And survey them we did, with the help of our partners at LUNA® — a dedicated proponent of empowering women and equal pay — and comedy duo Soren and Jolles, who searched the streets of New York City for the missing $840 billion. They may or may not have found the money (no spoilers here!) but they did find some enlightenment and hilarious moments along the way. Check out the video below to see what real people had to say when we asked them to help us find the $840 billion that women lose to the gender pay gap every year.

In the spirit of our partnership with LUNA®, Bustle has made a donation to AAUW, a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.