WASHINGTON — Lisa M. Maatz, AAUW director of public policy and government relations, issued the following statement regarding today’s Capitol Hill rally on pay equity:
“The American Association of University Women has long fought to end wage discrimination. As early as 1922, AAUW’s legislative program called for a reclassification of the U.S. Civil Service and for a repeal of salary restrictions in the Women’s Bureau to address pay disparities. Still, nearly a century later, women working full time earn on average about 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn.*
“That’s why we’re here today to urge the Senate to move quickly to pass the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 2831), the only true fix to the Supreme Court’s misstep in Ledbetter v. Goodyear, which severely limited the ability of victims of pay discrimination to seek vindication under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Our 100,000 members nationwide are also urging the House to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338), a bill that updates the Equal Pay Act, moves us forward in the fight for pay equity, and will likely be brought up for a vote before the August recess.
“The need for both measures is clear. Although women are entering college in higher numbers, education has not completely solved the pay gap. According to AAUW’s 2007 report, Behind the Pay Gap, just one year out of college women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues earn, even when they have the same major and occupation. Ten years after graduation, the pay gap widens. Clearly, wage inequalities are not simply a result of women’s qualifications or choices—unfortunately, discrimination still plays a role, and women and all workers need a fair way to seek vindication when faced with such situations.
“In this economy and this election year, most women see equal pay as a priority. AAUW believes now is the time to address these issues, and American women agree. Among issues important to them, younger women especially identified equal pay for equal work as a main concern.** Congress has a chance to take action on bills that could move the ball forward on pay equity for women—something I believe women will remember as they go to the polls in November.”
*U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (August 2007). Annual Demographic Survey.
Retrieved November 28, 2007, from http://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032007/perinc/new05_000.htm.
**Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. “Unmarried Women and Pay Inequity.” May 29, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2008, from http://www.wvwv.org/assets/2007/10/22/payequity6.1.pdf. In a January 2007 Women’s Voices, Women Vote survey of 1,000 unmarried women, pay equity ranked at the top of vote-driving issues.
