Title
Special Recognition - Equal Pay Day Proclamation
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Proclaim April 12 as Equal Pay Day in Olympia.
Report
Issue:
Recognize Equal Pay Day and the full value of women’s skills and significant contributions to the labor force and encourage businesses to conduct an internal pay evaluation to ensure women are being paid fairly.
Presenter(s):
Rachel Friedman, President Zonta Club of Olympia
Background and Analysis:
The Equal Pay Act was signed by President John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963. In writing, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 “prohibits discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers.”
When the Equal Pay Act was signed, women made 59 cents for every dollar men made. Today, women make on average 79 cents per dollar men make for the same work. While there has been some advancement over the past half century, recent research shows progress has stalled during the past decade.
Equal Pay Day was originated by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages.
Equal Pay Day is the second Tuesday in April every year to illustrate how far into the current year women need to work to earn the same amount of money men earned during the previous year.
This year, the Zonta Club of Olympia and the YWCA are working together to highlight Equal Pay Day in our City.
Attachments:
Proclamation