Have you heard of Equal Pay Day? It occurs on Tuesday, April 10, this year. It is a symbolic day when women’s pay finally catches up to the wages men took home the previous year. The date represents the fact that women working full time, year-round in the United States typically are paid just 80 percent of what men are paid, or a gap of 20 percent.
Typically, women who work full time take home about 80 cents for every dollar a full-time male worker earns.
Over a typically career (47 years), women’s total earnings’ loss compared with men are $700,000 for a high school graduate, $1.2 million for a college graduate, and $2 million for a professional school graduate.
The pay gap persists across all racial and ethnic groups and is found in every state. Incomes among women, especially those who are underserved, are considerably lower than their male counterparts. Hispanic women face the greatest gap, earning about 55 cents compared with a Caucasian male.
Missing 20 percent or more of a paycheck is a hard hit. Think about how that loss of wages adds up over a lifetime, and we are talking about losing a substantial amount of change — change that could have greatly aided women and their families.
The pay gap is closing, but at a glacial pace. At the current rate, women will not achieve equal pay until 2152. Women and families cannot afford to wait that long, nor can we risk rolling back the progress that has been made on equal pay.
In 1955 the American Association of University Women (AAUW) supported a bill introduced by Reps. Edith Green (D-OR) and Edith Rogers (R-MA) requiring “equal pay for work of comparable value requiring comparable skills.” Congress finally enacted the Equal Pay Act, a version of the 1955 bill, in 1963. This year Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sponsored the Fair Pay Act of 2017-2018 in the current legislative session to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin and for other purposes.
In addition, in Florida, a bill was filed last year entitled the “Sen. Helen Gordon Davis Fair Pay Protection Act.” This bill was meant to prohibit an employer from providing less favorable employment opportunities to employees based on their sex, regarding their wages and benefits or to require them to sign certain waivers and documents. Unfortunately this bill has remained in committee.
The members of the Ocala branch of the AAUW, in honor of Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, are encouraging our two federal senators and three representatives to support the Fair Pay Act of 2017-2018 by getting this critical law passed. They are also asking our community’s two state senators and three representatives to assist in getting the Helen Gordon Davis Act for Fair Pay onto next year’s legislative agenda and on the floor for a vote. To provide a further incentive as well as a visual reminder, each of these legislators was sent a letter of encouragement and a “Pay Day” candy bar to enjoy.
Job creation and economic opportunity are critical issues for women, many of whom continue to struggle with economic insecurity and wage discrimination. The AAUW will continue to advocate for strong pay equity legislation, regulation and enforcement to protect employees and assist employers.
— Patricia A. Woodbury is a member of the Ocala branch of the American Association of University Women.