EquiTable has reinvented the concept of splitting the bill. Instead of dividing the check equally, EquiTable “splits it equitably” so that individuals only contribute what they should “to balance out the wage gap.” Here’s how it works.
(Photo Credit: Andrew Stawarz/Flickr)
Although we can all agree that the realities of the gender wage gap are nothing to be laughed about, sometimes humor is the only way to open people’s minds and bring awareness to heavy issues that deal with race, gender, equality, and the like. Case in point: EquiTable (formerly known as Equipay). This app is the brainchild of stand-up comedian Luna Malbroux, who presented this humorous (and downright genius) concept at Cultivated Wit’s Comedy Hack Day 10 in January of this year – where, by the way, the app won the grand prize.
EquiTable works by using an algorithm that takes into account pay data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and calculates the amount each individual should contribute to the bill, based on race and gender.
For instance, if a white male, white female, and black female dine together and agree to split the bill using EquiTable, the white female would pay 78 percent of her portion of the bill, the black female would pay 64 percent of her portion, and the white male would pick up the rest of the tab. Does can’t be fair, right? Of course it isn’t, but neither is the gender pay gap for those on the losing end.
Granted, the percentages above don’t necessarily reflect an apples-to-apples comparison, because factors such as an individual’s level of education, job title, experience, and etc. aren’t being considered. When comparing men and women in similar jobs and similar qualifications, the gender pay gap comes in at around 97 percent, according to PayScale’s report, Inside the Gender Pay Gap.
What’s interesting, however, is that as education and job title increase, so does the pay gap. What’s more, the gender pay gap is greatest between married men with children and married women with children. (Read more eye-opening findings from PayScale’s report, here.)
At the very least, hopefully using humor will allow the eye-rolling naysayers to finally acknowledge the existence of the gender pay gap and start some sort of dialogue about this issue – because any conversation is better than no conversation.
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This last paragraph says a lot about the two realities one must juggle (or give up trying to juggle) with recent grads and mulish partisans… “At the very least, hopefully using humor will allow the eye-rolling naysayers to finally acknowledge the existence of the gender pay gap and start some sort of dialogue about this issue – because any conversation is better than no conversation.” Except that the “eye rolling naysayers” would be correct, that there is virtually no gender… Read more »
LOL equality?? more like entitlements. that ” gender pay gap is absolute bull. i can see that the college gender studies major that wrote this has a lot to learn about how the real world works.
Love the idea to increase visibility of the issue. It will take interesting approaches like this to change the slow moving progress!!! Cowgirl Up!
Men should ask women to verify their income first. If she earns more, she pays more.
I can’t tell you how many times when I was single a woman who earned more and had a better home and car than I did didn’t offer to pay one cent. So bring on the EquiTab, a step toward equality for men.
On the gender wage gap:
“Salary Secrecy — Discrimination Against Women?” http://malemattersusa.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/salary-secrecy-discrimination-against-women/