Thousands to celebrate Equal Pay Day
UPI
Thousands to celebrate Equal Pay Day
WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) - More than 500 political, professional and
labor groups across the U.S. will hold 650 events to celebrate Equal Pay
Day on Friday to demand equal wages for women. The National Committee on
Pay Equity says (Thursday) it wants to raise awareness of the wage gap
between men's and women's wages.
bc-us-equalpay-women
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UPI
Thousands to celebrate Equal Pay Day
WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) - More than 500 political, professional and
labor groups across the U.S. will hold 650 events to celebrate Equal Pay
Day to demand equal pay for women workers.
The National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) says it wants to raise
awareness of the wage gap between men's and women's wages.
Friday's events include rallies, press conferences and workshops to
address the issue.
NCPE says while women make up almost half the U.S. labor force, on
average they only earn 74 percent of men's wages. Among African American
women, the figure is 65 percent, and among Latinas, only 57 percent.
``We're trying to call attention to this problem, because 35 years
after the Equal Pay Act, our society continues to undervalue women's
work'', said Evelyn Knolle of NCPE.
Knolle said a recent AFL-CIO survey of 50,000 women workers showed
equal pay is the main concern of working women. She said: ``This is not
an isolated problem because it touches so many other issues: access to
higher education, pension security, and women's ability to provide for
their families. We're calling on Congress to address the wage gap
issue''.
A recent AFL-CIO report said the U.S. lagged behind other
industrialized nations, including Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy,
Norway, and Sweden, in the wage gap for women, although equal pay has
been the law since 1963.
Founded in 1979, NCPE is a national coalition of women's groups,
labor unions, civil rights organizations, professional and legal
associations, and individuals working to end race- and sex-based wage
discrimination. The coalition represents 20 million workers.
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