On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, giving women the promise of equal pay for equal work. And yet today, 47 years later, woman still get paid only 77 cents on average for every dollar a man makes; women of color still face an even wider pay gap; and we’re still fighting for pay equity.
Today, 47 years later, women need the updated protections and tools the Paycheck Fairness Act can provide. This comprehensive bill would create stronger incentives for employers to follow the law; empower women to negotiate for equal pay; strengthen federal outreach, education, and enforcement efforts; and strengthen penalties for equal pay violations. Without the Paycheck Fairness Act, women will continue to be silenced in the workplace — still prohibited from asking about their employer’s wage practices or talking about their own wages with co-workers for fear of being fired.
While the House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act well over a year ago with strong bipartisan support, the Senate has been sitting on it for far too long. And while women have come a long way since the Equal Pay Act was signed into law in 47 years ago, the fight for pay equity is far from over. That’s why I’ll spend today, the 47th birthday of the Equal Pay Act, urging the Senate to continue the fight.
Learn more about the Paycheck Fairness Act, and see what the wage gap is in your state. Add an Equal Pay websticker to your site or blog and a Twibbon to your avatar and share your thoughts about how pay inequity affects you in the comments below as well as on Facebook and Twitter. You can also visit AAUW’s pay equity web page and download the Pay Equity Resource Kit and Pay Equity Program in a Box for ideas, tips, and resources to use in your community throughout the year.
Unfortunately young women think the fight was won if they think there was a fight at all. We must teach them the history and the battles women have fought.