The Pay Gap is a Man's Issue, Too
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Take Action!
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On
this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into
law, giving women the promise of equal pay for equal work. And yet
today, 47 years later, woman still get paid only 77 cents on average for
every dollar a man makes; women of color still face an even wider pay gap;
and we're still fighting for pay equity.
The
wage gap is obviously a problem for women, but what's not often talked
about is that it's also a problem for men. Women now comprise 50
percent of the paid workforce for the first time in history, and two-thirds
of mothers are either the primary or co-breadwinners for their
families. The wages women earn have never been more important to
individual families or the overall American economy.
The
wage gap may hit women directly, but it clearly affects men as well.
Over the course of a year, the gender pay gap results in the average woman
earning $10,622 less than she should be taking home. How important is
that money to the husband who was laid off and is still depending on his
wife to get the family through his period of unemployment? How
significant is that money to the son who starts college in the fall and is
counting on his mother to help him shoulder the enormous cost of
tuition? How different would the economy look if women were actually
receiving that money every year? Did you know that men of color face
a pay gap, too, when compared to white men?
That's
why, as we mark the anniversary of the Equal Pay Act and anticipate
Father's Day just around the corner, we're asking you to get the men in
your life involved in our efforts to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act as well. Forward
this alert to all the men you know and ask them to urge their senators to
quickly move and pass this critical legislation. Then, consider
giving Dad the gift of AAUW membership for Father's Day. After all, it
literally pays dividends.
Women
need the updated protections and tools the Paycheck Fairness Act can
provide, and so do men. The bill passed the House well over a year
ago with strong bipartisan support, and new polling data just released by the Paycheck Fairness
Act Coalition, of which AAUW is a key leader, shows that 84 percent of
voters support a new law like the Paycheck Fairness Act. But the
Senate has been sitting on it for far too long.
In
honor of the Equal Pay Act anniversary today, urge your senators to
move the Paycheck Fairness Act by clicking on the "Take Action!"
link in the upper right corner or copying and pasting the following URL
into your internet browser. Then, with Father's Day approaching,
forward this email or use the "Tell a Friend" option to urge all
the men in your life to take action as well.
http://capwiz.com/aauw/issues/alert/?alertid=15100991
The
grassroots liaisons in AAUW's Leadership Corps program will be reaching out
to AAUW branch leaders to provide mentoring and assistance. Whether you are
a member of an AAUW branch (an officer or not) or a member-at-large
interested in becoming involved with other AAUW members, please fill out
the online form here to indicate areas of branch
programming or administration for which you would like assistance.
Washington Update, a weekly e-mail bulletin for AAUW
members, offers an insider's view on the public policy process, the latest
policy news, resources for advocates, programming ideas, and updates from
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today!
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part of the AAUW national community and break through barriers for women
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