#ICallMyselfAFeminist Hashtag Nails It

Lest you think it's only the United States that has a wage gap issue, Monday is Equal Pay Day in the U.K., which aims to raise awareness about the same problem we face here in the States: the gap between earnings between men and women. While we celebrate Equal Pay Day here in the United States in April, on the day on which women have statistically earned the same amount men did the year before; the Brits, always trying to differentiate themselves (I kid, I kid), observe it on Nov. 9, the day of the year when women effectively begin working for free until the end of the year. The day aims to bring attention to the fact that as Labor Party MP Yvette Cooper put it on Twitter Monday, "45yrs after Equal Pay Act disgraceful 14% pay gap still exists. Women effectively working for free from today until Jan. #EqualPayDay."

The organization behind Equal Pay Day in the U.K., the Fawcett Society, calculates that men earn 14.2 percent more than women per hour in the U.K.; however, reporter Kate Andrews at the International Business Times has taken issue with the calculations:

A few statistics the Fawcett Society worryingly omit are specific age-group comparisons. The ONS found there to be a 9.4 percent pay gap when you compare all working men and women's salaries between every age group, but when they calculated similar age groups, they found that women between the ages of 22-39 are now earning more than their male counterparts.

Regardless of any potential mathematical nitpicking, I think it's safe to say equal pay is an international and pressing issue. Also an issue worldwide is women of color being given a platform to speak about their struggles and experiences of feminism. A new essay collection I Call Myself a Feminist is addressing all needs and more — giving a platform to 25 women under 30 of all backgrounds to talk about what feminism means to them. The hashtag responding to the collection #ICallMyselfAFeminist began trending on Twitter this month, and with Equal Pay Day especially, they're worth taking the time to enjoy.