It can be awkward when the bill comes and your friend wants to split things down the middle, even though she ordered two glasses of wine and you're drinking water. But a new app could make that conversation even more uncomfortable — because it asks your male dinner companions to chip in more due to the gender wage gap.
Equipay, a new check-splitting app, calculates who should pay what based your dinner companions' privilege, and not just who ordered an extra appetizer. Based on the statistics for the wage gap in the U.S., women are asked to pay 78 cents for every dollar men pay. If a guy is upset that his meal costs more, he can make the case for a price break through the app. You can enter an excuse that ranges from the comical (you've just dropped serious money on an improv class) to the tone-deaf (this isn't an issue).
This isn't the first time a group has tried to illustrate the issue of unequal pay in a way that directly affects men's wallets. Last spring, higher schoolers in Utah held a Gender Equality Bake Sale, where they charged women 77 cents for the same cupcakes that cost men a dollar. And in Pittsburgh, graphic designer Elana Schlenker launched a pop-up shop that charged women just 76% of the price it charged men.
Equipay hasn't been released yet, so you won't be able to utilize it at your next group dinner. But it might be worth bringing up in conversation the next time your male friend tries to split things equally and fails to remember that his entrée actually costs more than yours.