Tuesday 17 April Is Equal Pay Day For U.S. Women

Filed under: Benefits & Compensation,Compensation,Labor,Legal,News,Wages & Hours |

Tuesday, 17 April is Equal Pay Day. This date symbolizes how far women in the United States must work into 2012 to earn what men doing similar work earned in 2011.

Equal Pay Day

Equal Pay Day

When the President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, women were earning an average of 59 cents on the dollar compared to men.

While women account for half of today’s workforce, and their earnings account for a significant portion of the household income that sustains the financial well-being of their families, they are still experiencing a gap in pay compared to men’s wages for similar work.

Today, women earn about 80 cents on the dollar compared to men — a gap that results in the loss of about $380,000 over a woman’s career. African-American women and Latinas have an even greater pay gap.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Labor commemorates Equal Pay Day by providing all working women and their employers with information, resources and tools to help them close the pay gap.

This year is no different.

Various DOL agencies have partnered to provide innovative tools that support the goal of achieving equal pay for women.

This year, you can find all of the Department’s information on equal pay in one convenient location: www.dol.gov/equalpay.

This new webpage offers visitors links to key, updated information on women’s earnings, new brochures for women and employers on equal pay rights and the Department of Labors newly unveiled equal pay applications (“apps”).  Come learn about the app challenge developers and what the new apps can do for you.

On Friday, April 20th at 12:00 p.m. EDT, the Women’s Bureau will host an Equal Pay Twitter chat with members of the President’s National Equal Pay Task Force.

The Twitter chat will include the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Women’s Bureau has also invited two special guests to our Twitter Chat:  Lisa Maatz (@LisaMaatz) the Public Policy and Government Relations Director from the American Association of University Women and Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) Vice-Chair, and app challenge judge, Elianne Ramos (@ergeekgoddess).

The purpose of the Twitter chat is to bring awareness of the continued need for equal pay and to educate women about resources available to them.

#equalpaychat

You can questions before or during the event via Twitter to @USDOL using hashtag#EqualPayChat or by email before the event to womensbureaunetwork@dol.gov.

Highlights of Women’s Earnings by Region

Learn more about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the very first bill President Obama signed into law.

List your business in the premium web directory for free This website is listed under Human Resources Directory