According to the National Committee on Pay Equity’s website, the NCPE founded Equal Pay day in 1996 as a symbol for how far into the new year women would have to work in order to earn the same amount men did the previous year.
As it stands now, women make 81 cents for every dollar men make, according to the United States Department of Labor. In 1963, prior to the signing of the Equal Pay Act that fought wage discrepancies, the pay gap was 59 cents.
The situation is even worse in Wyoming, said Dr. Catherine Connolly, Director of the Gender and Women’s Studies program at UW.
“There is an enormous pay gap between men and women,” said Connolly. “The reality is that in Wyoming, that pay gap is worse than elsewhere in the nation. This regrettably, but truthfully, gives us national notoriety today. While elsewhere in the country the wage gap is about 77 cents on the dollar, in Wyoming it tends to be about a full ten cents less than that.”
Madison Graulty, treasurer of the Students for Policy Equality Advancement and Knowledge, or SPEAK Out, speculated on why Wyoming sees these kinds of discrepancies.
“The reason why the gender wage gap in Wyoming is a lot steeper is because of the energy industry. Many people working out in the oil and gas fields get paid large sums of money, and many of these people are men,” said Graulty.
Secretary of Labor Tom Perez met with President Obama this Equal Pay Day, discussing actions to be taken to narrow the wage gap in all states.
According to Perez in a blog post on the United States Department of Labor website, “…the president signed an executive order that prohibits retaliation by federal contractors against workers who discuss their pay, lifting the restrictions that keep too many workers in the dark and preventing them from advocating for fair and equal pay.”
The President also signed a presidential memorandum instructing Perez to make further regulations on collecting summary pay from federal contractors.
“Collectively, these two actions will enhance pay transparency and give workers and investigators the tools they need to identify and remedy discrimination,” said Perez.
These actions still demand time before they begin to have an effect on the pay disparity. At the current rate of change, Connolly doesn’t see the pay gap disappearing any time soon.
“It will be generations before that gap narrows to nothing,” she said. “We need to encourage women to do jobs held by men and we need to recognize and value the jobs held by women.”
“There are other things we can do as well,” Connolly continued. “Raise the minimum wage. Two-thirds of workers at the minimum wage are women.”
Connolly also stressed the importance of getting a bachelors degree or above, as well as negotiating a good first wage. She believes using these competitive assets helps to reduce the individual wage imbalance.
Graulty also had some suggestions for women entering the workplace.
“Never sell yourself short,” she said. “Never take up less space than you feel that you deserve. Make your voice heard. Make your opinions known. Be strong.”
The women’s advocacy organization SPEAK Out will next be hosting “The F Word: A Feminist Function” discuss similar gender equality issues, as well as highlight women in art. It is scheduled for May 1st in The Gardens of the Wyoming Union.
