From the Women’s Law Project (http://www.womenslawproject.org/):
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This week we once again recognize the inequities that cause women to be paid less than men are paid. The gendered impact of the pandemic has made it clear: The gender pay gap is a systemic problem, and we need corrective policy to fix it.
Over the last two years, the pandemic has economically damaged women workers—especially women of color—who have been kept in low-wage jobs, categorized as essential, that forces them to either put their own and their family’s health at risk or be pushed out of the workforce to provide unpaid family care.
Equal Pay Days mark the day when women will have earned the same amount that white men earned at the end of 2021. The gap for women of color, who are disproportionately family breadwinners, is significantly greater, particularly when we count all women, not just those with full-time year-round jobs.
The lowest paid U.S. women often work multiple part-time jobs to support their families. They deserve to be counted.
The 74-day gap between the last day of 2021 and Equal Pay Day reflects an average pay for women that is 83 cents to every dollar paid to white men. This gap translates to $10,000+ a year and $407,760 over the course of a 40-year career.
At the rate that women’s wages have (or have not) increased, the pay gap will not be closed until 2059. Pennsylvania, where women are paid below the national average, it is estimated that equal pay will not be achieved until 2068.
The wage gap has multiple causes. One is plain and simple sex discrimination, often intersecting with race and ethnicity discrimination, all of which devalues women’s work. Women also experience reduced pay because of pregnancy and parenting. Without paid leave or accommodations, pregnant persons are pushed out of work, creating gaps in their employment history that depresses future pay. Caretaking of children and older and disabled relatives, unpaid labor still borne primarily by women, leads to fewer hours available for paid work. A low minimum wage reduces 2/3 of women to low paying jobs as does the persistence of occupational segregation that prefers men for higher paying jobs.
Many states have adopted laws that help close the gap. They have amended equal pay laws to limit the reasons employers can use to justify pay disparities, increase transparency in pay, prohibit reliance on prior pay, and include race and ethnicity as as protected categories. They have also adopted additional laws that will help close the gap, including increasing the minimum wage and making it One Fair Wage and providing paid family sick days and family leave as well as mandating reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers keep workers connected to their work.
Neither Pennsylvania nor Congress has amended their Equal Pay Acts, both of which desperately need to be amended to guarantee true wage equality. Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Act uniquely needs to expand the categories of workers it covers, as it was amended to cover only workers not covered by the federal Equal Pay Act. Nor have either of them increased the minimum wage or adopted paid leave or pregnancy accommodations.
It’s time to take a stand against pay inequity and discrimination. We need to ensure women can participate fully and equally in the workforce.
Bills are pending that will accomplish these goals. Urge your federal and state representatives and senators to support these bills:
Pennsylvania
- Amending Equal Pay Act (HB 821)
- Amending Equal Pay Act (HB 819)
- Raising the Minimum Wage – One Fair Wage (HB 345)
- Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (HB 990/SB 716)
- Family Care Act (HB 1200/SB 580)
Federal
- Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7)
- Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (HR 1065)
- Raise the Wage Act of 2021 (H.R. 603/S. 53)
- Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act/FAMILY Act (H.R. 804/S. 248)
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