Equal Pay Day - Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Tuesday, April 20, 2010, is the national observance of Equal Pay Day, the day when women and men around the country recognize the wage gap between working women and men, and offer remedies to address pay inequity. According to statistics released in 2009 by the United States Census Bureau, women are paid, on average, 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts are paid -- a gap of 23 cents.

Wage Gap Widens Once Again

Latest Census statistics show that the gap between men's and women's earnings widened slightly between 2007 and 2008, from 77.8 (generally rounded to 78 percent) to 77 percent. Based on the median earnings of full-time, year-round workers, women's earnings were $35,745 and men's earnings were $46,367. Median earnings for most women of color are even lower. In 2008, the earnings for African American women were $31,489, 67.9 percent of men's earnings (a drop from 68.7 percent in 2007), and Latinas' earnings were $26,846, 58 percent of men's earnings (a drop from 59 percent in 2007). Asian American women's earnings in 2008 were $42,215 -- 91 percent of men's earnings, an increase from 89.5 percent in 2007. The National Committee on Pay Equity's The Wage Gap Over Time table shows how little the wage gap has changed in this century. (See also the fact sheet from the Institute for Women's Policy Research: The Gender Wage Gap 2008.)

Major events in pay history:

1932 - Federal Economic Act passes to ban wives of federal employees from holding government positions. It also declares that women with employed husbands be first on the lists for firing.

1950's - Equal pay bills are introduced by Sen. Wayne Morse (D-OR) and Rep. Edith Green (D-OR); Republican versions by New York Reps. Katherine St. George and Jessica Weis. No results.

1963 - Equal Pay Act passes providing equal pay for women for equal work.

1964 - Civil Rights Bill passes. Title VII bans employment discrimination against women.

1979 - 20 women's groups, professional organizations and unions form the National Committee on Pay Equity.

1998 - Six hundred local women's groups, labor unions, and others across the country commemorate Equal Pay Day on April 3 by holding rallies, press conferences, and luncheons; organizing discounts at local restaurants; handing out cookies reduced in size to reflect the wage gap to local elected officials; handing out "Equal" Pay Day candy bars; marching to their state capitols; and more. In conjunction with Equal Pay Day, Vice President Gore announces new policy initiatives aimed a closing the wage gap and pledges the Administration's support for the Paycheck Fairness Act. On June 10, 1998 -- the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Equal Pay Act -- President Clinton holds a press conference at the White House and urges Members of Congress to pass legislation to close the wage gap, saying, "You wouldn't tolerate getting to vote in three out of every four elections. You wouldn't like it if someone said you could only pick up three out of every four paychecks. But that is, in effect, what we have said to the women of America." Also speaking at this event are Dr. Dorothy Height, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice President Gore, Tipper Gore, and several Members of Congress.

1999 - On January 19, 1999, President Clinton mentions equal pay among his priorities outlined in his annual State of the Union Address before Congress and the nation. As the New York Times reports the next morning, "Mr. Clinton exuded ease and a sense of political control, reacting with unmistakable delight when both sides of the chamber erupted in applause for his call for equal pay for equal work by women or men." The following week, on January 30, 1999, the President dedicates his weekly radio address to the issue of fair pay, proposing a $14 million initiative to help narrow the wage gap.

On April 7, 1999, President Clinton, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman host a roundtable discussion on equal pay at the White House. A scientist, a clerk, a coach and a nurse all share their personal stories with wage discrimination in America. On April 8, 1999, tens of thousands of women mobilize nationwide for Equal Pay Day.

-Information from the National Committe on Pay Equity

Go Here to Learn More:  http://www.pay-equity.org/index.html