The Martin Agency spelled out, quite literally, the significance of Equal Pay Day in the United States, which took place on April 10. The day represents how far into the year the average woman must work to earn what the average man did the previous year, so the agency created an open-format typeface with each angle slanted at 22.7 degrees, and all spacing set to 22.7, to visualize the current 22.7% pay difference between men and women in our country.
The plan is that, over time, as the pay gap closes (or sadly widens) the font will dynamically shift to reflect the change. Explains Kristen Cavallo, CEO of The Martin Agency: “We’re motivated to create positive change. [Chief Creative Officer] Karen Costello’s daughter is almost 13 and mine is 14-years old. At the current pace, my daughter won’t see pay equity until she’s about 115 years old. Karen’s daughter will be nearly 244 because she’s Hispanic. What can we do about it? Something. Our mantra is ‘actions over words.’ In transparency, we did an analysis of our own staff salaries – and then engaged an outside firm to do it again. Where there were opportunities to make improvements, we did. It’s that important. It’s never too late to do the right thing.”
