Tuesday, April 22, is the national observance of Equal Pay Day, the day when individuals throughout the country recognize the wage gap between working women and men. Equal Pay Day is held annually in April to signify the point into a year that a woman must work to earn what a man made the previous year.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women who work full-time, year-round earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men – a gap of 23 cents. The gap is even greater for minority women as African American women earn 66 cents and Hispanic women earn 54 cents to every dollar earned by men nationally.
In Indiana, women’s pay falls below the national average with Hoosier women earning 72 cents for every dollar earned by men. The amount drops for college educated women in Indiana who make only 68 cents for every dollar. That ranks Indiana 50th in comparison to other states and Washington, D.C., and raises the question if the wage gap might be a contributing factor to Indiana’s brain drain. With a pay gap of 32 cents, why wouldn’t a female college graduate look to career opportunities in other states?
Pay inequity not only harms women, it harms families and communities through depressed living standards and higher poverty rates, particularly among female-headed households. Paying single working mothers as much as their male counterparts in comparable work would cut their poverty rates in half. American families lose more than $4,000 in annual wages from the inequity. Individually, American woman lose between $700,000 and $2 million in lifetime earnings from wage discrimination. This loss in wages also affects women as they go into retirement. According to the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement, women will go into retirement with at least $300,000 less in earnings than their male counterparts.
The first answer to this problem is for employers to examine and, if necessary, correct their pay practices to ensure that all employees performing comparable work are rewarded equally.
Second, women must stand up for equal pay. Knowing the labor market and industry salary averages can help women ensure that they are getting paid fairly. The Indiana Commission for Women (www.in.gov/icw) and the WAGE Project (www.wageproject.org) have many resources to help women research fair wages, relevant laws and what can be done about wage discrimination.
As with most changes, it would be preferable for the market to adapt itself and for employers to move toward equitable wages on their own initiative. However, legislation may be necessary. For employers who continue to pay women less, legal penalties or civil action may be the only remedies.
In the Indiana General Assembly, legislation that would expand on federal and state equal employment laws has been proposed for years. Unfortunately, those bills have not even gained a public hearing in the Senate Committee to which they were assigned. Legislation to close the wage gap deserves more serious consideration, and Hoosiers deserve the opportunity to speak to the need of such a measure.
We hope that the national observance of Equal Pay Day brings attention to this discrimination throughout the country. More importantly, we hope that Hoosiers step up to make Indiana an example for how fair, equitable pay for all workers can improve the quality of life for our citizens. The need is great, and the time is now. Women and their families cannot afford to wait!
Signed:
Jean Breaux - State Senator - Senate District 34
Earline Rogers - State Senator - Senate District 3
Connie Sipes - State Senator - Senate District 46
Sue Errington - State Senator - Senate District 26
Vi Simpson - Assistant Senate Democrat Leader - Senate District 40
Karen Tallian - State Senator - Senate District 4
Source: Senate Democrats
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