Apr 16, 2002 3 min read

Soroptimist International of Fayette County is making the public aware that today, April 16, is Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes the disparity of women working seven days a week to make the money earned by men in five days. As business and professional women, Soroptimist members are committed to ending pay discrimination based on gender and race and wish to heighten the public’s knowledge and understanding of this detrimental problem.

Members offer the following outline and statistics:

Why does equal pay matter?

Equal pay matters because hundreds of thousands of households are headed by women and even in two parent homes, two-thirds of women work. Equal pay is about basic justice, fairness, and basic family economics. For families, pay inequities translate into less groceries, fewer doctors’ visits, and less money to put aside for retirement.

How much less do women earn than men do?

Women earned 73 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2000 (27 percent less). The gap widens for women of color. Black women earn 64 percent and Hispanic women earn 52 percent compared to men’s earnings.

Isn’t it true that women earn less than men do because they take time off to raise their children?

While it may be true that men and women entering the work force earn roughly the same amount of money, this does not continue. Even if women put in the same hours as men and do not take time off, they will receive fewer raises, smaller bonuses and less frequent promotions.

Did You Know:

– The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics states that women are paid less in almost every occupation classification for which data is available. Only women working in miscellaneous food preparation and as legal assistants make more money than men do.

– The wage gap widens as women mature. The earnings for women ages 16-24 is 91 percent; by age 55-64, women earn only 68 percent of men’ earnings.

– According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the average 25-year-old woman will earn $523,000 less than the average 25 year-old-man over the next 40 years if current wage patterns continue.

– A study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the AFL-CIO found that over 50 percent of two-earner and single-mother households across the country would be lifted out of poverty if equal pay were enforced at the state level.

– In the United States, 99 out of 100 women will work for pay at some point in their lives. Regardless of their marital status, the majority of women – even those with young children – work for pay.

A recent study found that nearly 40 percent of working women could leave welfare programs if they received pay equity increases.

One result of worldwide pay inequalities is that 70 percent of the more than one billion people living in poverty are women.

Governments should be urged to conduct studies and record data on wages in order to more fully explore this problem.

Soroptimist is a worldwide organization of women in management and the professions working together through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women.

The Fayette County Club, since its inception in 1956, has donated many thousands of dollars to local charitable organizations, institutions such as The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, City Mission, Family Abuse Shelter, My Sister’s House, just to name a few.

The local group has also supported the Uniontown Hospital, Uniontown Public Library, American Heart Association, Fayette County Blind Association, Fire Departments, Special Olympics, and Communities in Schools.