Tag Archives: Equal pay for equal work

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.

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speaking of truth to power … 6

04/19/2012 Nativegrl77

What a week — Rick Santorum dropped out of the race, Mitt Romney continued to attack women’s rights, and the Republican National Committee dropped an ad we absolutely have to debunk. On top of all that, Thursday marked the six-year anniversary of Mitt Romney’s health reform in Massachusetts — one of the models for Obamacare — but you won’t hear him taking any credit for it.

Check it out all in this week’s tips:
#1 Video: Mitt Romney — Memories to last a lifetime With Rick Santorum leaving the GOP primary on Tuesday, it’s almost certain that Mitt Romney will be the nominee. To commemorate the GOP primary, and remind people of the extreme positions Romney’s taken over the course of it, we put together a short videolaying out some of his most “severely conservative” moments. Check them out, then share them with anyone who still thinks he’s a moderate:

#2 Keeping his word: 5 ways our president supports economic opportunities for women Governor Romney spent a good deal of this week attacking President Obama’s economic record among women. President Obama has said, “Every decision I make is all about making sure … all our daughters and all our sons grow up in a country that gives them the chance to be anything they set their minds to.” That includes supporting economic policies that help women, like extending the payroll tax cut — which helps 75 million women — or granting more than 16,000 business loans to small businesses owned by women. Check out the top five waysour President has kept his word to women, then pass them on:

#3 Fair Pay Act for women: Romney’s campaign not sure he would’ve signed if president The morning after Rick Santorum left the race, the Romney campaign was asked whether Romney supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps to ensure women can get equal pay for equal work. Their answer (which should’ve been a no brainer): “We’ll get back to you on that.” This is a basic step to stop pay discrimination in the workplace, the first bill President Obama signed into law in office — and Romney’s campaign isn’t sure if their candidate would’ve signed it. We put together a short video, featuring Lilly Ledbetter, on why equal pay is “not Republican and it’s not Democrat. It’s civil rights.” Watch it, and share it with folks who should see it, too:

#4 The six-year anniversary of Romneycare (Where’s the celebration?) Exactly six years ago yesterday, Mitt Romney signed Massachusetts health reform, or Romneycare, into law. At the time he called it a model for the nation. Six years later, and you don’t hear him celebrating it. Why? Because this godfather of Obamacare is promising to repeal national health reform on Day One in office. So much for a model for the nation. We put together a videoexplaining it — check it out, pass it on, and make sure people know he’s trying to take away the very protections he once fought for:

#5 Debunk this new RNC ad The Republican National Committee is out with a new ad smearing President Obama’s record, saying he hasn’t kept any of his promises from four years ago. You and I both know that’s a lie, so we put together a charge-by-charge rebuttal of the ad, laying out exactly what our president has done. Check it out, and make sure none of the RNC’s lies stick:

#6 Fact check the Koch Brothers on Obamacare The George Mason University Mercatus Center released a report this week claiming Obamacare will actually add to the deficit, to the tune of $340 billion. But don’t for a minute believe that they don’t have an agenda — this center is primarily funded by the Koch brothers, and was founded by their chief lobbyist. A quick look at studiesfrom actual non-partisan sources, like the Congressional Budget Office, back up what the President has said about Obamacare all along — it will actually cut the deficit by $127 billion. Make sure their report doesn’t pick up any steam — share the truth:

Thanks,
Stephanie
P.S. — Now that Mitt Romney is almost surely our opponent, the race is on. We created this Facebook graphic for folks to say they’ve got our president’s back. Share it on your wall here:

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Take Action: Lilly and Betty Need Back-up …Fatima Goss Graves, National Women’s Law Center

10/03/2011 Nativegrl77

As a fair pay advocate, you stood hand-in-hand with Lilly Ledbetter and Betty Dukes as they fought for fair pay against some of the largest employers in the United States. As courageous as they have been, women like them shouldn’t have to go at it alone.

It’s time that Lilly and Betty have some back-up. Take action today: Tell the Department of Labor to help protect women from pay discrimination. WWW.NWLC.ORG

The Department of Labor is currently considering creating a new compensation data tool that would make it easier to enforce laws that prohibit pay discrimination. Since 2006, the federal government has had NO tool to effectively monitor wage discrimination based on race, national origin and gender by private employers. This means that our tax dollars could possibly be going to federal contractors who are not paying women fairly. It’s time to take a stand. Raise your voice: tell the Department of Labor to move us forward and collect wage data.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

So what do we want the new data tool to look like? In developing the compensation tool, we urge the Department to:

*Require that federal contractors submit wage information for all workers and in a wide range of categories, including workers that are part-time;

*Require that the Department conduct compensation reviews for companies that have more than one location in order to address companywide discrimination;

*Require that businesses bidding on federal contracts submit compensation data as a part of the bidding process. Federal tax dollars should not be wasted on companies that unlawfully discriminate against its workers; and

*Include comprehensive data that highlights gender, racial and ethnic disparities not only in pay, but also in hiring, terminations, promotions and tenure. Pay discrimination is often inextricably intertwined with other practices prohibited by employment discrimination laws.
The wage gap has been stuck at 77 cents for the past three years, despite important laws that prohibit gender discrimination in compensation. And we know that individuals like Lilly and Betty face significant obstacles in addressing and detecting pay discrimination. Collecting this data would be a critical step in ensuring the government can effectively combat pay discrimination. As a fair pay advocate, we urge you to weigh-in and support this new data tool at the Department of Labor.

WWW.NWLC.ORG

Sincerely,

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

P.S. Your generous donation allows us to continue to stand up for women and their families. Support our work today.

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Should you be paid less?

06/30/2011 Nativegrl77

We don’t think so, but some apparently do — women STILL earn 23 cents less for every dollar earned by men.

www.nwlc.org

Let’s make one thing clear: last week’s Supreme Court decision against Betty Dukes and the women of Wal-Mart may have been deeply disappointing, but it’s NOT the end of the road for their pay discrimination case. And it’s absolutely not the end of the road for our fight for fair pay. Will you be with us?

Please support the Center’s work for fair pay for women at this urgent time.

In the last Congress, we fell only two votes short of passing the Paycheck Fairness Act in the U.S. Senate after it passed in the House. This key piece of legislation is now back in Congress, and with your help we can make sure that our elected representatives provide the women of Wal-Mart — and women everywhere — a true chance at equal pay and a fairer workplace.

We are committed to seeing this important bill pass, but we can’t do it without generous donations from supporters like you.

www.nwlc.org

Thank you so much for your help today and for the powerful support you’ve given the Center in the past. Together, we’ll see the day when everyone agrees with us that Women Are Not WorthLess™.

Sincerely,

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

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Up Close and Personal at the Supreme Court …a message from Fatima Goss Graves

03/31/2011 Nativegrl77

As I sat in the Great Hall of the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday and watched the lead attorney for Betty Dukes, the former Wal-Mart greeter, argue on behalf of her and the other women of Wal-Mart, I was more certain than ever that their cause is just and must prevail. Wal-Mart v. Dukes illuminates the fact that equal pay and a fair shot at promotion are still a dream for many working women across the country.

Please help support the Center’s efforts on behalf of the women at Wal-Mart and all women and girls nationwide.

As you may know, the National Women’s Law Center co-authored an amicus brief in Wal-Mart v. Dukes on behalf of 32 other organizations, setting out why the sexist treatment of Wal-Mart’s female employees was clearly discriminatory and why the case is so important to working women everywhere.

If the Supreme Court gives the green light to the women of Wal-Mart to proceed as a class, as it should, it will mean that these women, who first filed their lawsuit 10 years ago, will have their day in court at last. They will finally have the chance to equalize pay and promotions at the country’s largest employer. And the Supreme Court will send an important message that no company is too big or too powerful to be held accountable.

Several years ago, the Center led a coalition pressing Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and today that legislation is the law of the land. Now the Center is continuing the fight for fair pay. Through our work on the Wal-Mart case, advocacy, public education and much more, the Center will not rest until the job is done.

Please help support the Center’s efforts on behalf of fair pay for women and all the other issues on which we work.

On behalf of women and families everywhere, thank you for your generous help.

Sincerely,

Fatima Goss Graves

Vice President for Education and Employment

National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Please donate today. And you can also watch Center Co-President Marcia Greenberger discussing the case on ABC Weekend News, NBC Nightly News, and PBS NewsHour.