"There is difference and there is power. And who holds the power decides the meaning of the difference." --June Jordan

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Happy Anniversary, Equal Pay Act!

I found out, thanks to an e-mail announcement from the National Women's Law Center, that today is the 45th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act.

From today's post from at the organization's blog:
Forty-five years ago today, the Equal Pay Act made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform equal work.

You might think that 45 years would be enough time for a law to have lived up to its potential. But the wage gap persists — women still make, on average, only 77 cents on every dollar earned by men, and women of color fare even worse.

So what’s the problem? Some, like USA Today, would have you believe that the wage gap has little to do with continuing discrimination against women and much to do with the choices that women make, the education they have received, the fact that they don’t become entrepreneurs. That conclusion disregards the studies that have found that significant portions of the wage gap cannot, in fact, be explained by any factor other than discrimination. [Link leads to a PDF.]

Read the rest of their post, and go here for information on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which may get a second chance in the U.S. senate after failing by 60 votes the first time around:

If you live in one of the following states, at least one of your Senators voted against the bill: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. Please e-mail that Senator now.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Gooooooooooooooooooooooo OHIO!