Each Friday, the another jennifer blog shares stories of those who incorporate philanthropy into their everyday lives – personally and professionally – in a creative and unique way. If you have a story you’d like to share, please contact Jennifer.

Note: Yes, I realize I am publishing my Philanthropy Friday post on a Thursday. But it’s Blog Action Day, so I moved Friday up. If only we could do that in real life.
Blog Action Day is an online global event that has taken place on October 16 since 2007. Each year, bloggers around the world unite by posting about one issue on the same day in order to raise awareness and trigger a positive global discussion. The issue is different each year. Last year the topic was Human Rights. I participated in #BAD2013 and shared human rights stories from a great nonprofit partner, Opportunity International.

Blogs from 111 countries are taking part in Blog Action Day this year with the topic of Inequality.

I suspect the term inequality brings up different things for different people depending on age, gender, race. ethnicity, background and other defining qualities we have as human beings on this planet. For me, the word inequality brings to mind the wage gap between men and women in the United States. While I am certainly thankful to have the opportunity to work for myself and lead a comfortable life on my own terms, it boggles my mind that women in this country still don’t earn equal pay.

Oxfam International, a Blog Action Day partner, tweeted this eye-opening graph that shows women won’t see equal pay until the year 2075. (I wish that were a typo.)

#Women won’t receive equal pay until 2075 – and it’s hurting everyone http://t.co/5xQNoaop0M MT @wef #inequality pic.twitter.com/NqIDAHwqk6

— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) October 14, 2014

Looking on Twitter, there is a lot of discussion around income inequality in general. The wealth gap exists in the United States and around the globe. From Oxfam International’s website:

Earlier this year, Oxfam revealed that 85 people have as much wealth as half of the people on the planet combined. This growing gap between the rich and the rest is preventing millions of people from lifting themselves out of poverty. But extreme inequality is not inevitable – it is the result of years of deliberate policies and rules that have been rigged in favour of the few. We know that these rules can be changed to benefit everyone, and that together, we can tackle inequality.

In my travels to education myself on the topic of inequality I also found the following clip from the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver show. John Oliver discusses America’s growing wealth gap and why it may be a problem in the future. It’s a longer video to watch, but I found it informative and humorous.

I believe one of the simplest ways to give back is to engage in conversations like this and use our voice to share our unique ideas, thoughts and beliefs. Or at least share information that can help us form opinions and solutions.

What does inequality mean to you? How should it be addressed locally and/or globally?