Today is “Equal Pay Day,” according to the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE). Since 1996, the NCPE has designated a day every April to recognize the persistent gender-based pay equity gap in our country. The specific day – April 4, 2017 – represents the amount of additional time beyond the wages earned last year for a typical woman to earn the same as what a typical man was paid in 20016. Last year, Equal Pay Day was celebrated on April … [Read more...]
U.S. Women’s Hockey Team Controversy Reveals Persistence of Pay Equity Disparities
By Lawrence P. Schaefer | The recent threatened boycott by the U.S. Women’s Hockey team highlights a very troubling issue that persists in our society – the fundamental disparity between wages earned by women versus men in our society. Despite the the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Equal Pay Act of 1970, and the more recent Lilly Ledbetter Pay Fairness Act of 2009, studies routinely demonstrate that women earn about 80% of what men … [Read more...]
Gender Wage Gap in the Legal Spotlight
From tennis champ Serena Williams to soccer star Carli Lloyd, celebrated female athletes are drawing mass media attention to gender-related wage gaps. So are Hollywood actresses like Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, and Viola Davis. Thanks to the celebrity status of these women, the issue is back in the media spotlight and debate across the nation. Of course, wage discrimination impacts more than gifted female athletes and actresses. It … [Read more...]