Topic: Equal Pay
Imagine if you were at the grocery store, and having just paid $3 for a box of cereal, observing the next customer being charged only $2.28 cents for the exact same product. Any of us would march right up to the store manager and demand a refund. We would want to be charged the same amount - to be given the same consideration - as any other person. It's simple logic, based on a sense of fairness that permeates our society. But when it comes to salaries paid to women, that fundamental philosophy has failed to override a longtime gender bias.
That's not to say that this country hasn't made tremendous strides in gender equality. American women enjoy nearly every privilege, and bear as many responsibilities, as American men do. But on this particular point, we still have work ahead of us. In September 2002, the United States Census Bureau released statistics showing that on average, women are paid 76 cents for every dollar their male counterparts are paid, a difference of 24 cents. "Over a working lifetime, this wage disparity costs the average American woman approximately $250,000," noted one women's support network.
On April 15, which has been designated Equal Pay Day, supporters of the pay equity effort held "unhappy hours" at coffee shops, eateries and bars across the country. They chose the date April 15, the federal tax deadline, because that's the approximate date women's paychecks catch up with men's from the previous year. In other words, women must work all of 2002 plus three and a half months of 2003 in order to be paid the same salary as their male coworkers earned during 2002.
Labor, women's and professional groups at both the national and state level urged businesses to illustrate the inequity by blocking off an "unhappy hour" and charging female patrons less than men for food and drink - maybe charge men $1 for a cup of coffee and charge women only 76 cents. In West Virginia, where women earn only about 72 cents for every dollar men earn, I know of at least three unhappy hours held in Charleston, Morgantown and Lewisburg. The local newspapers in those areas ran stories noting the events, which helps bring awareness to the communities.
Supporters were also asked to wear red to emphasize that women are "in the red" because of the wage gap.
As a woman legislator and as a concerned citizen, I feel strongly about working to level the playing field. In recent years, the Legislature has directed some funds toward bringing the pay level for state jobs traditionally held by women closer to the level of jobs traditionally held by men. Much of those "traditionally female" jobs are in the state Department of Health and Human Resources, a massive agency which requires a great deal of legislative scrutiny.
It's my hope that more and more women will be encouraged to advocate for themselves to negotiate a fair paycheck and learn how to comfortably ask for periodic salary increases commensurate with increased responsibility and performance.
Anyone who feels strongly about this issue should feel free to contact elected officials. Obviously, I'm aware of the problem and continue to work to overcome it at the state level. But at the federal level, senators and representatives could be encouraged to co-sponsor the Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. (The Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121.)
Certainly business owners should also be lobbied to examine their own pay scales to ensure they're paying their employees fairly.
Organizations which support the Equal Pay Day observance include the AFL-CIO, the National Organization for Women, the American Association of University Women, the Business and Professional Woman and the National Association of Social Workers. For more information regarding Equal Pay Day events, contact Elisabeth Gehl at Business and Professional Women/USA at egehl@bpwusa.org.
I welcome and appreciate your input on these issues, or any other legislative matter. Please call me at (304)340-3106 or write to Delegate Virginia Mahan, 215-E, Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305.