The U.S. Department of Treasury is asking for public input on its plans to put a woman on the $10 bill in 2020. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has taken the government up on its offer by redesigning the bill to reflect the fact that the average woman still only makes 78 percent of what a man makes—and that black and Latina women make even less.
Their video, “#TheNew10 Submission,” shows an artist turning Alexander Hamilton’s face into a portrait of a woman, but then asks if it is appropriate “to celebrate 100 years of gender equality” that haven’t actually happened.
The video visualizies the wage gap by changing the "10" in the corners of the bill to read “7.8.”
It goes on to raise the point that the numbers are even more bleak for women of color, with black women making 64 percent and Latina women 54 percent of what men make.
“The irony of the Treasury’s initiative is that it’s meant to celebrate 100 years of equal rights in America,” Linda D. Hallman, CEO of the AAUW, said in a press release. “We wanted to illustrate just how far women are from the goal of equality, so we did exactly what the Treasury asked the American people to do...’”
The AAUW is not alone in being unimpressed by this symbolic change. “Daily Show” correspondent Jessica Williams ripped the Treasury for its plans to keep Hamilton somewhere on the bill, describing him as “a male chaperone.”