Tag Archives: Equal Pay Day

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Equal Pay Day – April 17 – AAUW


AAUW Releases State-By-State Rankings for Equal Pay Day
D.C. Has Best Ranking, Wyoming Worst
 
WASHINGTON – With the release of The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) unveiled new state-by-state equal pay rankings. Updated for the national observance of Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into the current year women must work to match what their male counterparts earned last year, The Simple Truth charts the wage gap in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
 
The wage gap is narrowest in the nation’s capital, where women have the best earning’s ratio — 91 cents, on average, for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. The state with the worst earnings ratio is Wyoming, where women make 64 percent of men’s earnings. The national average puts women at just 77 percent.
 
The wage gap costs working women and their families tens of thousands of dollars in lost wages and directly affects women’s retirement security. These numbers are worse for women of color, and The Simple Truth examines racial and ethnic breakdowns. White and Asian women earn, respectively, 82 percent and 88 percent of white men’s earnings. African American and Hispanic women earn much less — just 70 percent and 61 percent of what white men earn, on average.
 
“Equal Pay Day, which this year falls on April 17, is an unfortunate reminder of how far we have to go to reach true pay equality. The wage gap hasn’t moved significantly in nearly a decade, and at this rate, we’ll be marking Equal Pay Day for the next 60 years,” said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE.
 
In addition to the release of The Simple Truth, AAUW branches across the nation will mark Equal Pay Day by holding rallies, wearing red to symbolize how women’s wages are in the red, handing out Pay Day candy bars, and hosting bake sales with discounts for women.
 
“The gender pay gap is unlikely to go away on its own. Our publications and tools will empower our advocacy on behalf of women and their families,” said Catherine Hill, AAUW director of research. “The Simple Truth is a useful resource for women, the media, and society at large as we work to address this stubborn inequality.”
 
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The American Association of University Women (AAUW) advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Since 1881, AAUW has been one of the nation’s leading voices promoting education and equity for women and girls. AAUW has a nationwide network of more than 100,000 members and donors, 1,000 branches, and 600 college/university institutional partners. Since AAUW’s founding 130 years ago, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political. AAUW’s commitment to educational equity is reflected in its public policy advocacy, community programs, leadership development, conventions and conferences, national partnerships, and international connections.
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Demand a Vote on the Paycheck fairness Act


National Women's Law Center - Stop Discounting Women
Write Your Representative Today
                It’s time for the House to hold an up or down vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Take Action

Dear Carmen,
Late last week, the House of Representatives blocked a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act. This was a blow to all of us who have worked so hard on policies to help close the wage gap.
But it’s not over yet! That’s right — there is a way to FORCE a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro put forward what’s called a “discharge petition” and all we need to do is get 218 Representatives to sign it in order to release the bill for a vote.
That’s where you come in. We need you to urge your Representative to stand up for fair pay by signing the “discharge petition” on the Paycheck Fairness Act. The more noise we make, the more likely we’ll reach our goal.
A vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act is long overdue. For the last decade, the typical woman who works full time, year round has made 77 cents for every dollar earned by her male counterparts. That 23-cent wage gap translates into more than $400,000 in lost wages over a woman’s lifetime.
Here’s why we need the Paycheck Fairness Act. It would:

  • Make it harder for employers to pay women less for doing the same work.
  • Prohibit unfair retaliation against employees who discuss their wages with their co-workers.
  • Guarantee that employers who break the law compensate women for the pay they are owed.

It’s time to move the Paycheck Fairness Act forward. Urge your Representative to sign the discharge petition.
Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely,
Fatima Goss Graves Fatima Goss Graves Vice President for Education and Employment National Women’s Law Center    
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Working Hard for Less Money


ThinkProgress War Room

What the Pay Gap Means for Women & Their Families

Today is Equal Pay Day, which marks the additional days into 2013 that a woman needs to work just to equal what a man made in 2012. The pay gap is real — and really persistent.

The amount that women lose as a result of the pay gap doesn’t just hurt them. Their families also pay the price for this lost income. Here’s what the median pay gap means over the course of just one year: $10,784. The total cost to a woman and her family over the course of her entire working life is staggering: $431,360.

Click through to check out an interactive version of this graphic showing how the pay gap affects women’s lives:

You can find all of our resources on equal pay HERE.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s 2013 and Congress needs to pass meaningful equal pay legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act. Republicans have blocked this vital bill during the last three Congresses and it’s well past time for them to stop standing in the way of equal pay.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

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Today is the Day


National Women's Law Center - Stop Discounting Women
Today is the day!
                Thank the President for his leadership on fair pay today and ask him to sign a fair pay executive order.
Take Action

Today is the day!
Equal Pay Day represents the day that the average woman’s wages finally catch up to the average man’s earnings from the year before. You read that right: we had to get more than 3 months into 2013 before women’s wages caught up with men’s from the prior year.
We need to channel our shock and anger into action or it’s not going to get any better.
That’s why we need your help RIGHT NOW! Thank the President for his leadership on fair pay today and ask him to take the next step by signing an executive order on equal pay.
The executive order would ensure that contractors who do business with the federal government cannot retaliate against workers who discuss their own pay. The order would affect over 20 percent of America‘s civilian workforce.
The bottom line is that you can’t learn if you’re being paid less if your employer can penalize you for talking about your salary. That’s the rule that applied to Lilly Ledbetter when she worked for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., which was, you guessed it, a federal contractor. It took her nearly 20 years to find out that she was being paid as much as 40 percent less than her male co-workers. Had there been a ban on these sorts of punishing pay practices, Lilly might have learned much earlier about her lower pay.
President Obama can take steps to end retaliatory pay secrecy policies among federal contractors. Please join us by taking action today!
This is why we need your help: After a decade in which the 23-cent wage gap has not budged one penny, we must fight this issue on all fronts. That’s why we’re asking President Obama to sign the executive order. And that’s why we’re also working with our champions in Congress to pass key equal pay legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay Act.
Thanks for your support and continued work on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Fatima Goss Graves Fatima Goss Graves Vice President for Education and Employment National Women’s Law Center    

P.S. NWLC has released new resources for Equal Pay Day. Check out our interactive wage gap map and new fact sheets on how the wage gap hurts women and families, wage gap and women of color, and explaining the wage gap.
P.P.S. Want to take action on Facebook? Share our new graphic that explains why punitive pay secrecy policies punish employees and help hide discrimination.
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Forty-Nine Years and 77 Cents … Fatima Goss Graves, National Women’s Law Center


Here’s a “fun” fact for you: 49 years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, women working full-time are paid just 77 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts. And the wage gap is far worse for women of color.

Earlier this week, we asked you to urge President Obama to ban federal contractors from retaliating against employees who talk about their wages. But that’s only one front in women’s struggle to achieve equal pay for equal work. Will you help?

Please donate $10 today to support the Center’s work on Paycheck Fairness and other issues important to women and their families.

With millions of Americans still unemployed or underemployed, the wage gap isn’t a question of equity alone: closing it is an economic necessity. The Center is pushing hard to revive the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill stalled by a determined minority of opponents in the last Congress. Among many other economic issues, we’re also fighting for increases in the minimum wage and for funding for the child care support so vital for women with children who work outside the home.

Please donate $10 today to support the Center’s work to eliminate the wage gap and push for other policies critical to women and their families.

Without you and the other members of our activist community, we wouldn’t be able to advocate as effectively as we do. Can you take an extra step today? Please donate $10 to support the Center’s work. Thank you for all the help you give.

Sincerely

Fatima Goss Graves Vice President for Education and Employment National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Please donate today — Your support will make a difference.