What does pay equity mean to you?

On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay men and women different wages for the same work. Rep. Julia Butler Hansen (D-WA), far right, who was also an AAUW member, attended the signing ceremony. At that time, women earned only 59 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Despite the passage of the EPA more than 45 years ago, the average woman now earns 78 cents for every dollar earned by her male counterpart. With Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, April 28, now is the perfect time to urge your senators to support the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182).

Pay Equity Moves on to the Senate!

Thanks for supporting pay equity in the House. Now, please send a message to our senators. The House passed both the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act on Friday.

The Senate is expected to take up these bills as soon as next week, which means your action is needed now.

As you may remember, the Senate narrowly failed to pass a vote to move forward with Ledbetter bill last year. The good news is that it's a new Congress, and your message urging your senators to support these critical bills could change the outcome this time around. Even if you have written your senators about this legislation before, now is the time to contact your senators and urge them to vote yes on these critical pieces of legislation and oppose any attempts to weaken them. They need to hear from you now!

How big is the pay gap now?
According to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007 the ratio of women's and men's median annual earnings reached almost 78 cents on the dollar for full-time year-round workers, up from just under 77 cents in 2006. This is the narrowest the wage gap has ever been, but it's only an additional one cent on the dollar.

One cent is chump change. It isn't real change.

While women have been hard at work to earn their extra penny, Congress has failed to pass legislation that would give women effective equal pay protections. In light of this, join AAUW in telling Congress that passing the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is an urgent priority. Tell Congress: "Keep the Change until Women Have Real Change."

Take Action Now!

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