'Happy Equal Pay Day,' said no woman ever

Happy Equal Pay Day! File that under “Things you won’t hear” on Tuesday, April 12, the date that symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year.

The non-holiday is commemorated annually with protests, Twitter storms and sassy 21% off discounts to compensate for the fact that, on average, women make $0.79 for every dollar men make.

Women make 79¢ for every dollar men make. This week, get the 21% off you deserve. Shop now: https://t.co/onOfS0PBSx #EqualPayDay

— GoldieBlox (@goldieblox) April 11, 2016

"You can’t negotiate your way out of discrimination,” says Lisa Maatz, vice president of government relations at the American Association of University Women, a “one-stop shop" for gender equality. And, she notes, April 12 — or $0.79 — is the best-case scenario. Minority women have a significantly higher pay gap.

If you’re Latina, your Equal Pay Day isn’t until Nov. 1. African American women have to work to Aug. 23. For Native American women, Sept. 13.

"For moms, Equal Pay Day is June 4," Maatz says. "There absolutely is a motherhood penalty when it comes to the pay gap."

Despite the fact that the pay gap has remained static, Equal Pay Day has become more recognized around the world, says Michele Leber, chairwoman of the National Committee on Pay Equity. The Dutch Equal Pay Day is March 4 and the Belgian Equal Pay Day is March 13.

Dawn Lyon, head of corporate affairs for Glassdoor, a job website known for company reviews and salary reports, says one key to closing the gap is transparency.

"About 60% of companies do not share pay data internally," Lyon says. “Transparency around pay eliminates inequities and helps people understand what fair pay is.”

Glassdoor is hosting a virtual roundtable discussion with Hillary Clinton and U.S. gold medalist and soccer player Megan Rapinoe at 9:30 a.m. ET Tuesday. Rapinoe is one of five of the best-known women of the U.S. women's national soccer team who filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, contending that they and their teammates were paid nearly four times less than their counterparts on the men's national team.

"Major Fortune 500 companies — Salesforce, Amazon, Intel, Gap — are taking more aggressive stances when it comes to transparency," Lyon says. "That’s what employees and candidates want."

Salesforce is looking at a very different Equal Pay Day than last year. Since last April, the company started a Women’s Surge Program, audited more than 16,000 salaries and spent $3 million dollars to adjust them.

Cindy Robbins, executive vice president of global employee success at Salesforce, played a key role in creating the Women's Surge Program.

"When you talk about equality, pay is definitely part of it but it’s also about giving people an equal opportunity at leadership," Robbins says. "Are we considering a male and a female candidate? If not, why? We need to do more. We all need to do more. It’s not a Salesforce issue — it’s a tech industry issue."

In March, Amazon announced that women’s compensation in 2015 was 99.9% of men’s in equivalent jobs and that minorities make 100.1% of what white workers earn.

"Tomorrow is Equal Pay Day," Lori Goler, Facebook's vice president of human resources and recruiting wrote on the network. "I'm proud to share that at Facebook, men and women earn the same."

On Monday, President Barack Obama officially proclaimed April 12, 2016, as National Equal Pay Day and announced a new national monument in Washington, D.C., to honor the movement for women’s equality.