On June 10, 1963 President John F. Kennedy signed the historic Equal Pay Act of 1963 into federal law. The act was one of the first federal antidiscrimination laws to address specifically the gender wage gap, it became illegal to pay men and women a different salary if they are at the same place doing similar work. After the Equal Pay Act, it took forty four years for the gap to close from fifty nine cents to eighteen cents. Although the act was signed over fifty years ago, the gender wage gap remains a prominent issue throughout America. On average women’s pay is seventy seven cents of a man’s one dollar, with an even wider gap for women of color. African American women earn sixty four cents to a white man’s one dollar, while Latina and Hispanic women only earn fifty four cents. While the gap is not as bad as it once was, at the rate it is going now, less than half a penny a year, the will gap not close for another 124 years. Equal Pay Day is a national movement working towards closing this wage gap between men and women. …show more content…
Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the year women have to work to earn what men earned in the previous year. The last Equal Pay Day was April 14, 2015, and the next one is going to be April 12, 2016. While equal pay day was set up by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996, many other organizations that work to help women take part in Equal Pay day. Along with the NCPE organizations like the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the Institute for Women Policy Research (IWPR), the National Organization for Women (NOW), and many more all work towards equal pay for women. These organizations have been working together to raise awareness, and diminish the gender wage gap through Equal Pay
In 1960 women were inspired by the leaders before them. This new generation of women fought for many things like, equality in the workplace, because men were paid more than women for the same job. Considering many men went off to war, so many women took over the jobs they use to have. However, when men returned from the war, they took their jobs back. Companies who hired women before stopped and only hired men. Even the newspapers had a separate listing of jobs for men and women. Both genders would work the same jobs, but would be paid on a different pay scale. Women fought for their rights of equal pay by organizing marches and protests in the nation 's capital. Therefore, the government proposed the Equal Pay Act, which was a victory for women once again. The Equal Pay Act was signed in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, the Equal Pay Act required employers to give men and women equal pay for the same work. In remembrance of this fight, every year during Women 's History Month, in march, Americans honor the women who fought and continue to fight for freedom and gender equality “. “A Brief History of Women’s Rights Movements.”
How many times have you heard that, for the same work, women receive 77 cents for every dollar a man earns? This alleged unfairness is the basis for the annual Equal Pay Day observed each year about mid-April to symbolize how far into the current year women have to work to catch up with men 's earnings from the previous year. If the AAUW is right, Equal Pay Day will now have to be moved to early January.
The reality of wage differences between men and women is that above all changes women continue to earn less than men. Countless arguments have promoted that wage inequality has changed and that everyone finally receives an equal amount of pay. “For women of color, the gap is largest of all: In 2006, black and Hispanic women earned 86 and 87 cents on the white man’s dollar, respectively,” (Mcswane 2). If a woman is lucky enough she will get an equal pay compared to a man doing the same job. But it is challenging for a woman of a minority background to achieve this. Not only are women paid less because of their sex, but also because of their race. There seems to be a mentality that because someone is a woman and a minority that they cannot do the same job as men or that women do not have the same education as the men, so employers do not have to pay them the same. “When the numbers are broken down by district, they 're pretty hard to ignore. Women in Texas are being utterly screwed financially, according to the data compiled by AAWU, with women earning anywhere from 66 percent of what men do in some districts, to the top end of things, which is about 89 percent,” (Leicht 4). The proof cannot be ignored. It i...
Under the Equal Pay Act of 1863, the gender wage gap supposedly no longer exists, but the facts are that “as of 2012 women in the U.S. earn 77 cents to a man's dollar” (ProQuest Staff). Men try to justify this unjust statistic by saying that “wage gap isn't necessarily the result of discrimination” (ProQuest Staff). Although, there is no logical reasoning behind it. When women are actually given the same jobs as men they may be paid the same but typically, they are not able to reach the higher positions in the company that men do. Even with their 77 cents to a man’s dollar, “women still tend to bear a larger responsibility for child care and other household matters within families” (Mazorelle). Women are not given the opportunity to earn as much as men and then they still have to take on a majority of the responsib...
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is an important act the needs to be enforced so the employer will not discriminate based on gender. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 “prohibits sex-based wage discrimination between men a...
Exhilarated screams and contagious laughter pierce the air. The squeaking and screeching of the rusty old gate travel throughout the playground, as I tower towards it. Sprinting down the crumbly old path, leading to the sand court. There are crowds and clusters of children everywhere. The wind twisting and gusting throughout the awkward side bangs and awful bob haircuts. Recess was by far the most exciting and adventurous part of my second-grade life. Spotting my best friend, Lydia, out of the mass of children, I frantically run up to her and ask her to play Newcomb with me. Newcomb was the best recess game to me, simply because it always had the cutest boys. Lydia immediately replies with complete agreement.
Women in the workplace felt the change in society. It greatly impacted both their roles at work and their pay. Women demanded an increase in pay and the opportunity to do the same work as men. The first step toward equality in the work place was the Equal Pay Act in 1963. It established equal pay for men and women when performing the same job duties.1 Prior to this act, women were only paid fifty-nine cents for every dollar that men were paid.2 In order to enforce the new law, the Wage Standards Division of the Department of Labor was established. It could bring lawsuits against violations of the act. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed and became law, Title VII prohibited any discrimination by private employers, employment agencies, and unions based on race, sex, and other grounds. In order to enforce this law, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established.3 At ...
When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law, he hoped that it would allow working women to finally earn the same amount of money as men; however, more than half a century later, men continue to out earn women in almost every field of work (Lipman para. 4). Male dominated fields tend to pay more than female dominated fields at similar skill levels. In 2012, women earned an average of $691 per week while men earned an average of $854 per week. Furthermore, the majority of women remain unaware that they are earning less than their male colleagues (Hegewisch para. 1).
One problem that Americans are facing is the inequality between men and women, whether it is in everyday life or in a professional atmosphere. One step that has been taken toward equality was introduced with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, signed by President John F. Kennedy. This law was the first affecting the amount of job opportunities available for women and allowing them to work in traditionally male dominated fields. On the outside, this would sound like a solution where nothing could possibly go wrong, but it is not.
In 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, making it unlawful to discriminate against a worker on the basis of sex. Since that time, the wage gap between men and women in the United States has narrowed by just 15 cents, now being 74 cents, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Even with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, it is not very effective, benefiting women in the workforce. There are studies showing that women can do the same job as men or even better. More women are also getting more degrees then men and are shown to be more dedicated in that job field. There are also huge corporate companies that are being ran by women CEO 's. So what does America have to do to help women of America to get equal pay? America has to push the senate to vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act in order for equal pay for women to happen. Without that bill, American women will continue to work hard for less pay compare to
Asian American women’s salaries show the smallest gender pay gap, at 90 percent of white men’s earnings. Hispanic women’s salaries show the largest gap, at 54 percent of white men’s earnings. ” We can put an end to this by enacting “the Paycheck Fairness Act to improve the scope of the Equal Pay Act, which hasn’t been updated since 1963, with stronger incentives for employers to follow the law, enhance federal enforcement efforts, and prohibit retaliation against
From the beginning of history and to this day women still get paid less than the average man, but why? Whoever said that women are incapable of good work performance? Whoever said that women do not have the same responsibilities to maintain? What really makes a women’s work inferior to men? The answer is nothing. Today, women are depended on just as much as men, and are capable of performing at their level. However, a full-time working woman earns only seventy-seven cents for every dollar a man makes. These days women make up half the workplace in our society; they work just as hard and for the same reasons. Women deserve to be paid at an equal rate as men because they are relied on to uphold the same responsibilities and are just as qualified to perform at a man’s level.
Women’s right to equal pay or gender pay gap has been a subject of discussion over the years in the united states, women perform similar jobs to men, but are paid
Another form of discrimination is gender discrimination; many women that hold the same position as their male counterparts are giving less pay for the same occupation. There has been great improvement in regulations to make it an equal playing field for women in the workplace. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed to ensure equal compensation and pay for women and men and prohibit sex-base wages(EEOC). The Act also ensured women if they perform the same job as their male counterparts that employer cannot lower the wages of some employees to make wages equal. Additionally, President Barack Obama passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009 to ensure women across the United States of America would receive equal compensation and pay(EEOC). Before the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act of 2009 Act was passed many companies practiced unfair compensation causing a wage gap between men and women in the