Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Equal Pay Day

Today is Equal Pay Day.  If you read any of our women's history month posts, it would be hard to argue that women haven't made huge strides in the advancement of equality.  However, we haven't come far enough.
  Imagine you and a man hold the same job.  Today marks the day - 84 days into the new year - you would have to work until to garner the same pay he did in the last year.  Put more simply, the average woman makes 77 cents to every dollar a man makes, that is a 23% difference.  The statistics are even more drastic for women of color.  The Center for American Progress wrote, "African American women and Latinas in the United States are paid $18,817 and $23,298 less than non-Hispanic white men yearly, respectively. That’s 64 cents and 55 cents for every dollar a man earns."  

Today is about more than raising awareness - it is a call to action.  Talk to you congressman or woman about the Paycheck Fairness Act.  The legislation has been introduced numerous times but has never passed both chambers.  The Act would create stricter punishments for employers who pay a man more than a woman for the same job and protect women who call employers out on pay disparities.  Find your congressperson HERE.




Posted by MWPC at 5:34 PM