You may notice something different about the cars whizzing by in your Lyft app today.
The ride-sharing replaced its car icons with symbols representing the gender wage gap — an unequal sign, to be exact — in honor of Equal Pay Day Tuesday, aiming to raise awareness about an issue that still plagues women in the workplace. The app also provides a link that explains the gender wage gap, which sits at $0.80 on the dollar, according to the latest research from the Institute of Women’s Policy Research.
The promotion is just one of several companies are making on Equal Pay Day, as firms like Adidas (ADDYY), Reebok and Procter & Gamble (PG) push awareness campaigns about women earning 20% less on the dollar than their male counterparts. All four of these campaigns partnered with Lean In, the nonprofit group founded by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg dedicated to advancing women in the workplace, for Equal Pay Day. “They’re all leaders in terms of equal pay and supporting women,” said Rachel Thomas, the president of Lean In.
“Lean In’s work to raise awareness about the gender pay gap is incredibly important, and we ware honored to support their efforts,” Emily Nishi, Lyft’s chief people officer, said in a statement.
While Lyft’s attempt to raise awareness about the gender wage gap echoes similar corporate moves that capitalize on these national awareness days, the company has recently doubled down on efforts to fix its own pay parity issues. In March, the company announced it began having a third party audit its payroll to ensure there was no existing wage gap. The findings from last year, the company said, showed a less than 1% difference between employees.
“As a result, we adjusted the pay of those employees, which included women, men, and those of different racial backgrounds,” the company said.
In the past, Lyft created positions like Nishi’s and implemented hiring practices that paved the way for more women and people of color to be represented in the company.
Editor’s note: The original version of this story said Lyft drivers were asking passengers how it would feel to be dropped off 20% short of their destinations. Lyft drivers are not doing this on Equal Pay Day.
