Equal Pay Day
Every year
in April, Business and Professional Women/USA and hundreds
of other organizations – women’s, civil rights, labor, and
community – team up with the National Committee on Pay
Equity (NCPE) for a national day of action promoting fair
pay: Equal Pay Day. Pay equity continues to be an issue of
economic justice for women and minorities in America.
April
symbolizes the month when women’s wages catch up to men’s
wages from the previous year. To help end wage inequities,
the NCPE, a nonprofit organization working exclusively to
achieve pay equity in America, coordinates this annual day
of action.
Achieving
fair pay for women and minorities continues to be a struggle
for the U.S. The problem is complex. In some instances,
women and people of color do not receive equal pay for doing
the same job as their male or white counterparts. On a
broader level, because socialization in America is not free
from sex or race bias, we continue to wrestle with
stereotypes about women and people of color, including
stereotypes about what kind of work is appropriate for women
and the importance of their jobs. When parking lot
attendants are paid more than child care workers, we know
the work women do is undervalued.
While
earnings statistics do not tell the whole story, they are an
important indicator of the progress we have made in wage
parity and in economic opportunity, such as ensuring fair
opportunities to earn more. Several legal cases have
focused on the problems women and people of color face in
gaining access to higher paying positions, such as
revenue-generating jobs.
Overall in
2006, the median annual earnings of women were only 77
percent of men’s salaries. The gap is even worse for women
of color. African American women make 66 percent, Latinas
make 55 cents and Asian American make 80 percent of men’s
salaries.
BPW Local
Organizations and advocates nationwide will mobilize their
communities by holding press conferences and setting up
meetings with public officials and policymakers to push for
stronger state and federal equal pay laws. For more
information, contact BPW/USA’s Director of Public Policy,
Elisabeth Gehl at egehl@bpwusa.org
Click
here for information on the Equal Pay Rally in Harrisburg. |
