That led women’s rights groups, unions and Obama Administration Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to seize on Equal Pay Day to again campaign to close the pay gap. But, this year, few mentioned legislation that would put teeth in Kennedy’s statute.
Equal Pay Day, April 17, marked the day this year when the median yearly wage for a working woman equals the previous year\'s median for a working man, with all other factors, including education, job type and job experience, being equal.
That translates into 77 cents in income for a working woman for every dollar a working man earns, says the National Women’s Law Center. The working woman lost $10,784 last year to that gap, NWLC added. It’s a 54-cents-per-dollar ratio for an Hispanic woman and 62 cents per dollar for an African-American woman.
“In 50 years, the wage gap has only budged 18 cents,” said National Women’s Law Center Co-President Marcia Greenberger. “When women are struggling to regain jobs in the recovery and families are relying increasingly on women’s wages, it’s especially critical to end the pay gap for women. Since lost wages cut deeply into a family’s budget, equal pay is not an abstract principle for women and their families. It’s key to their survival.”
AFSCME President Gerald McEntee recalled how women in his union made pay equity an issue an issue at the bargaining table, almost 40 years ago. Though he did not say so, while women nationwide earn 77% of the median income that men earn, federal data show the gap in median pay for union women is far less: 89.5%.
“In the 1970s, AFSCME members in San Jose, Calif., staged the first pay equity strike, and AFSCME members in Washington state reaped the benefits of the largest pay equity court settlement to date,” McEntee reported. “We have made some strides as a nation, through pay equity agreements at the bargaining table and in state and local legislatures. But progress has been far too slow and much too scarce."
Labor Secretary Solis stressed the same theme in her comments.
“"Women now make up nearly half of the nation\'s workforce, and 60% of all women work full time,” she said. “In almost two-thirds of families led by single mothers or two parents, mothers are either the primary or co-breadwinner.
“Pay equity is not simply a question of fairness. It is an economic imperative with serious implications not just for women, but for their families, their communities and our nation. Moreover, when women start at a disadvantage, they stay there.”
The initial pay gap Solis cited, studies show, puts women behind and they fall ever further behind throughout their careers. They also wind up with lower pensions – if they have them – and an average of $4,000 less every year from Social Security.
“The typical woman who works full time, year round would lose $431,360 in a 40-year period due to the wage gap,” Greenberger said. “When so many Americans are still struggling to make ends meet, no woman and no family can afford to have employers discount women’s salaries. Closing the gap is more than just an issue of fairness. It’s an economic necessity.”
Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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That led women’s rights groups, unions and Obama Administration Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to seize on Equal Pay Day to again campaign to close the pay gap. But, this year, few mentioned legislation that would put teeth in Kennedy’s statute.
Equal Pay Day, April 17, marked the day this year when the median yearly wage for a working woman equals the previous year\’s median for a working man, with all other factors, including education, job type and job experience, being equal.
That translates into 77 cents in income for a working woman for every dollar a working man earns, says the National Women’s Law Center. The working woman lost $10,784 last year to that gap, NWLC added. It’s a 54-cents-per-dollar ratio for an Hispanic woman and 62 cents per dollar for an African-American woman.
“In 50 years, the wage gap has only budged 18 cents,” said National Women’s Law Center Co-President Marcia Greenberger. “When women are struggling to regain jobs in the recovery and families are relying increasingly on women’s wages, it’s especially critical to end the pay gap for women. Since lost wages cut deeply into a family’s budget, equal pay is not an abstract principle for women and their families. It’s key to their survival.”
AFSCME President Gerald McEntee recalled how women in his union made pay equity an issue an issue at the bargaining table, almost 40 years ago. Though he did not say so, while women nationwide earn 77% of the median income that men earn, federal data show the gap in median pay for union women is far less: 89.5%.
“In the 1970s, AFSCME members in San Jose, Calif., staged the first pay equity strike, and AFSCME members in Washington state reaped the benefits of the largest pay equity court settlement to date,” McEntee reported. “We have made some strides as a nation, through pay equity agreements at the bargaining table and in state and local legislatures. But progress has been far too slow and much too scarce."
Labor Secretary Solis stressed the same theme in her comments.
“"Women now make up nearly half of the nation\’s workforce, and 60% of all women work full time,” she said. “In almost two-thirds of families led by single mothers or two parents, mothers are either the primary or co-breadwinner.
“Pay equity is not simply a question of fairness. It is an economic imperative with serious implications not just for women, but for their families, their communities and our nation. Moreover, when women start at a disadvantage, they stay there.”
The initial pay gap Solis cited, studies show, puts women behind and they fall ever further behind throughout their careers. They also wind up with lower pensions – if they have them – and an average of $4,000 less every year from Social Security.
“The typical woman who works full time, year round would lose $431,360 in a 40-year period due to the wage gap,” Greenberger said. “When so many Americans are still struggling to make ends meet, no woman and no family can afford to have employers discount women’s salaries. Closing the gap is more than just an issue of fairness. It’s an economic necessity.”
Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.