Today is Equal Pay Day, marking the 110 extra days the average woman must work into 2010 to catch up to what the average man made in 2009. It is a unique holiday, one we observe by working to eliminate it, and serves as a constant reminder of the ongoing injustice of gender-based pay discrimination.
Some facts:
- In 2009, the average woman was paid 77 cents for every dollar the average man made. That’s $10,622 less income just in 2009.
- It’s even worse for African American women and Latinas, who are on average paid 68 cents and 58 cents respectively for each dollar made by the average man.
- Using this 2009 wage gap data, over the course of an average woman’s career, she would be paid $700,000 less than the average man.
- The wage gap has remained virtually unchanged this century, fluctuating between 76 and 78 percent of men’s wages.
- Over 65% of women earn at least a quarter of household income and over 20% earn more than half.
Systematic, gender-based discrimination of this sort cannot be chalked solely up to “career choices” and education, which are themselves not causes but effects of gender biases. Women lack many of the legal tools necessary to protect themselves when they are victims of discrimination. Though the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 closed one loophole, we are still working to convince Congress to commit to strengthening civil rights legislation by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182). You too can take action to close the wage gap by sending an email to your Senators!
As we observe Equal Pay Day 2010, noting the date each year when women’s average earnings finally catch up to their male counterparts’ average earnings for the previous year, we remain acutely aware of the ongoing injustice of pay discrimination and the need to strengthen laws that protect victims.
Decades of hostile court decisions have weakened the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and other civil rights laws, stripping women of many legal options to combat pay discrimination. Today, the wage gap means hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost wages over the course of an average woman’s career. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the first bill signed into law by President Obama, closed one of these legal loopholes – but there is still more work to be done. We call on Congress to commit to pay equity and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182), providing women with the needed tools to challenge pay discrimination in court.
Today, the words of Leviticus remain as true as in Biblical times: “You shall not defraud your neighbor, nor rob him; the wages of he who is hired shall not remain with you all night until the morning” (Leviticus 9:13). Paycheck fairness is a moral cause, enabling American families to gain the economic security they have earned through lifetimes of hard work, and we remain committed to its achievement this year.
For more information on Equal Pay Day or the Paycheck Fairness Act, please call me at 202.387.2800 or email me at [email protected].