April 28 will mark Equal Pay Day — the point in 2009 when the average woman’s wages finally catch up with what the average man earned in 2008.
And on that day, we’re asking you to raise your voices in support of fair pay for women by blogging, tweeting, and posting on Facebook about this crucial issue. Please sign up to Blog for Fair Pay on April 28, and help us spread the word!
Last year, more than 80 bloggers took part in Blog for Fair Pay Day 2008. You can check out their posts here.
And things have definitely changed since then! In January, Congress passed and President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, marking a critical step in giving women the ability to challenge unequal pay.
But despite this success, pay equity is still a major issue in the movement for women’s equality. Women still earn only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men — and for women of color, the numbers are even worse. African-American women earn 69 cents and Latinas earn 59 cents for every dollar paid to men. We need to make sure that once women challenge pay discrimination, they have the tools they need to prove their cases and hold their employers accountable.
A bill currently before the Senate, the Paycheck Fairness Act, would build on the success of the Ledbetter bill and deter wage discrimination against women. The bill has already passed the House this year, and there's strong momentum to move it forward in the Senate.
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