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Equal pay has been the law for 40 years--yet last year, women were paid 76 cents for every dollar men received. On April 15, Equal Pay Day, working women across the country spotlighted this gender gap in wages with special events such as rallies, town hall meetings and lobbying.

On average, it takes a woman workers until April 15 to earn as much as a man was paid during the previous year. Women of color fare the worst of all. In 2000 African American women were paid only 67 cents and Latinos 55 cents for every dollar men received. Although their pay inequality is less severe than for women as a whole, Asian Pacific American women still earn only 83.5 cents for every dollar that men earn. According to an AFL-CIO study, women nationwide will not achieve pay equity until after 2050.

Many working women used their political strength on Equal Pay Day to lobby state legislators to pass pay equity laws. In Nevada, a group of lawmakers introduced a pay equity bill. IN Madison, Wis., working women fanned throughout the state capitol to lobby legislators for an equitable state wage law.

"For too long women have done the same work as men without the same recognition and pay. We have families and the same bills as men," says Coalition of Labor Union Women President Gloria Johnson, chairwoman of the Executive Council Committee on Women Workers.

For update information on the pay gap in your state and how much the pay gap will cost you, visit www.aflcio.org/yourjobeconomy/women/equalpay/highlightsbystate.cfm

Comments or Suggestions? E-mail the Communications Officer
of Siouxland Lodge 1426 IAMAW
Greg Enright