Make a difference in your community.
Collaborate with active women leaders.
Gain leadership skills and create change.
Behind the Pay Gap
CAP teams selected.
The American Association of University Women is pleased to announce its 2007-2008 Campus Action Project, Behind the Pay Gap, based on the AAUW Educational Foundation research report that was released in spring 2007 and examined the gender pay gap for college graduates. The objective of this year’s CAP program is to provide a platform to raise awareness of the inequity in pay between women and men in the workplace.
While several measures of educational achievement show that on average women are faring as well as their male counterparts today, often times these gains do not translate into comparable economic success beyond college. In 2004, college-educated women 25 and older earned 75 percent of what their male peers earned. This pay gap appears within the first year after college – even when women are working full-time in the same fields as men – and widens in the first ten years in the workforce. AAUW Educational Foundation research points to several factors that appear to be pivotal including, the field of study, occupational choice, and family-work balance issues such as time out of the labor force.1
Students, faculty, and administrators from U.S. colleges and universities are invited to submit a proposal for a campus action project (CAP). We expect to fund 5-10 projects of up to $5,000 each. Each campus selected will form a team composed of students and campus professional, who will serve as the project advisor. Selected teams will implement a project that addresses one or more of the recommendations from Behind the Pay Gap. These include: promote careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to girls and women, encourage women to negotiate for better quality jobs and pay, support mothers in the workplace, and end gender discrimination. Please download a copy of the report from http://www.aauw.org/research/upload/behindPayGap.pdf for a full list of recommendations.
The CAP program is an excellent platform for ongoing leadership development and support of women student leaders. Past projects have included student surveys, workshop series, conferences, mentoring programs, and art exhibits. We welcome innovative projects that promote public awareness of the challenges facing college women as they begin their professional lives. Please review the request for proposals. We look forward to your potential partnership on Behind the Pay Gap.
1Goldberg, J. D., & Hill, C. (2007). Behind the Pay Gap.
Questions? Call AAUW's Leadership and Training Institute at 202/728-3318 or send an e-mail to cap@aauw.org.
