It’s the Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, but I’m Not Quite Ready to Celebrate

President Kennedy signs the Equal Pay Act

On June 10, 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law. Forty-six years later, as I prepare to graduate from college and enter the workforce, there are so many career options and opportunities at my fingertips that a woman in 1963 would not have had access to.

 I take the wide breadth of choices for my future for granted and, if I’m being completely honest, I hardly ever stop to consider the work that went into opening the opportunities I enjoy today. I’m confident that I’m just as capable and qualified as a man doing the same job and that I deserve equal pay for equal work. Upon reflection, I recognize that this simple and largely unconscious conviction is also the product of decades of work.

When I consider all the benefits that the Equal Pay Act has accrued, I’m proud and grateful and also immensely frustrated. When President Kennedy signed the bill into law, its supporters expected that women would come to receive, as the name implies, equal pay for equal work. I’m sure that they would be far from satisfied to learn that 46 years and nine presidents later, women working full time still only earn an average of 78 cents to every dollar men earn.

In our 2007 report, Behind the Pay Gap, AAUW controlled for factors that most commonly affect differences in earnings, such as education and training, parenthood, and hours worked, and found that college-educated women still earn less than men. Even when you compare college-educated men and women with the exact same major and occupation, women earn an average of $20,200 less per year. As a soon-to-be college grad, I’m painfully aware of what an extra $20,200 per year could mean for my life.

On this anniversary day, the best way I can think to honor all the work that led to the signing of the Equal Pay Act, is to continue to work until the law actually does what its creators intended it to do. AAUW believes that the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will close some of the loopholes of the Equal Pay Act, strengthen penalties for equal pay violations, and prohibit retaliation against workers who ask about wage practices or disclose their own wages, is a strong step in the right direction.

Learn more about the Paycheck Fairness Act and email your senator to urge him or her to quickly pass the bill. Then send an e-card to a friend or family member urging them to celebrate this anniversary by contacting their senators too.

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Written by Stephanie Vertongen, AAUW Public Policy and Government Relations fellow.

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Graduates Need All the Help You Can Give

Graduations are upon us, many a campus this week will be filled with caps and gowns and smiling families, but let’s be honest, there will also be a bit of tension in the air. Like everybody else, I’ve been reading the headlines: “Job Hunt Proves Difficult for 2009 Graduates,” and “College Grads Now Facing Higher Unemployment Rate,” for example. I did run across an interesting one from Time, but then I looked at the date and was reminded of the old adage about history repeating itself.

I also found a good FastCompany article, “Top Jobs for 2009,” providing a good collection of tips for those graduating. This led me to thinking about the AAUW resources our members can use to help the graduates in their lives. There are lots! I have listed some below, but take a moment and browse through the AAUW website for more resources, information, and benefits that might be of use to someone you know.

Before you read the list, promise yourself that you will take action on at least one of these items. The more we spread our knowledge to the young women of today, the better equipped they will be to face the challenges that are tough enough already and made tougher simply because of their gender.

• Give a Grad a Gift: You should do this no matter what! Any member can give the gift of membership to a recent graduate — for free.
• CareerBuilder: Online job search with AAUW and CareerBuilder
• Princeton Review: AAUW’s official test prep partner, The Princeton Review, can save students and graduates 15 percent on classroom and live online courses for the LSAT, MCAT, GRE, GMAT, SAT, and ACT.
• AAUW’s Fellowships and Grants: These support aspiring scholars around the globe, teachers and activists in local communities, women at critical stages of their careers, and those pursuing professions where women are underrepresented. If you know someone already in grad school and looking for funding, steer them here.
• Pay Equity (or lack thereof): Make sure they know they are facing challenges in this arena. Encourage them to read the AAUW report Behind the Pay Gap, showing that just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues earn, even when they work in the same field. Ten years after graduation, the pay gap widens.
• Your Branch and State: What resources or financial help do you offer graduates?

And — simply put — talk, talk, and talk some more. Any chance you have to interact with students or recent grads, take a few moments and let them know there is a community of women who care, who take action, who support them. Who? Why that’s us, of course, AAUW!

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