A 19 Cent Raise in 45 Years? Women Deserve Equal Pay Now.

Today, April 28, is Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes the day in 2009 when the average woman's wage will catch up with those paid to the average man in 2008. In case you didn't already realize, in the United States, women are paid only 78¢ on average for every dollar paid to men.

The National Women's Law Center reports how when President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, it made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform equal work. The following year, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted, making it illegal to discriminate, including in compensation, on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, and national origin. At the time of the Equal Pay Act's passage in 1963, women were paid merely 59 cents to every dollar earned by men.

Hmm - so in 45 years, women's wages compared to men's have only increased by 19 cents? Clearly, even with the enforcement of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII which have narrowed the wage gap, significant disparities still remain and must be addressed.

I live in Washington, DC, which actually has the highest women's earning ratio of 93%. But not every state has made that commitment. For example, in 2007, on average, women in Wyoming working full-time, year-round earned only 63% of what men working full-time, year-round earned -- fifteen percentage points below the nationwide average of 78%.

Many try to argue that the remaining wage gap between women and men is not significant. But clearly that is not true. As National Women's Law Center reports:

Women are far more likely to live in poverty than men. Women working full-time, year-round are paid only about 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. African-American women earn 69 cents and Latinas earn 59 cents for every dollar paid to men. This wage gap cannot be dismissed as the result of "women's choices" in career and family matters. In fact, authoritative studies show that even when all relevant career and family attributes are taken into account, there is still a significant, unexplained gap in men's and women's earnings. Thus, even when women make the same career choices as men and work the same hours, they still earn less.

Today activists are calling on the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which aims to strengthen current laws against wage discrimination and provides tools to enable the federal government to be more proactive in the fight. The bill has already passed the House, but make sure to do your part and demand equal pay from your Senators as well.

It's time to demand equal pay for equal work once and for all. We still have 22 cents to go.

Sign the petition to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and spread the word on Facebook, on Twitter and YouTube. If you're posting to Twitter, please use the #fairpay hashtag.

Here are some sample tweets from the NWLC - feel free to copy them or to use them for inspiration:

• Today, Equal Pay Day, marks the point in 2009 when the avg woman's wages finally catch up with those paid 2 the avg man in 2008 #fairpay
• It takes women in the U.S. almost 16 months to be paid as much as men were paid in a year. http://bit.ly/KvkVH #fairpay
• Women in the U.S. are still paid only 78¢ for every dollar paid to men. http://bit.ly/KvkVH #fairpay
• Urge your Senators to vote YES on the Paycheck Fairness Act: http://bit.ly/yuQNU #fairpay
• See what the wage gap is for women in your state: http://bit.ly/JWYEv #fairpay

And here are some resources you can check out for more information:

• State-by-State Data on the Wage Gap
• How the Paycheck Fairness Act Will Strengthen the Equal Pay Act
• Background Information on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
• Congress Must Act to Close the Wage Gap for Women

(Photo credit: kevindooley)