Sarah Silverman wants to raise $30 trillion to close the wage gap

Her hilarious video raises awareness for women's rights in America

Published October 8, 2014 4:07PM (EDT)

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Sarah Silverman is lending her comedic voice to a social cause in a new campaign called the Equal Pay Project, which, in partnership with global creative agency Droga5, aims to crowd-fund the national wage gap by raising $30 trillion.

The logic behind the campaign is this: On average, women earn 78 cents to every dude's dollar in America. Assuming every woman works full-time for 40 years, that adds up to a loss of $435,049 -- as Silverman puts it, that's "a $500,000 vagina tax."

If the campaign hits the unlikely goal in its remaining 24 days, Silverman says that "every woman will get a check for the amount they are owed." More likely, however, the money will end up going to the National Women’s Law Center, "a non-profit group fighting for equal pay through legislation, education and advocacy." (After all, women shouldn't be paying themselves back, but they should unite to demand for equal pay).

It's either that, or, as Silverman suggests, we give up on womanhood altogether:


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Comedy Equal Pay National Women’s Law Center Sarah Silverman Video Wage Gap Women's Rights