Wear RED on Equal Pay Day to symbolize how far women and minorities are “in the red” with their pay!
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. The day, observed on a Tuesday in April, symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year.

It falls on a Tuesday because that is the day on which women’s wages catch up to men’s wages from the previous week. Because women earn less, on average, than men, they must work longer for the same amount of pay.

That same discrepancy follows women into retirement. Not only do women live an average of three years longer than men, they have earned less in their working lifetimes and have smaller pensions, leaving a greater proportion of women living in poverty. The median income for older women is just $3,000 over the poverty level and just over half the median income of older men.

Despite laws to the contrary, women still earn less at the same job as men. If women were paid comparable wages, it is estimated, the poverty level would drop by a third, and some say by half.

Social Security is the only thing keeping almost 40 percent of older women from poverty. Still, even with that benefit, twelve and a half percent of women 65 and older live in poverty. For older women of color, that rate doubles.

In the meantime, keep in mind that you should be paid at the same rate as men who do the same kind of job and that women should have greater access to the broad spectrum of jobs in order to compete for higher paid positions. It may mean a huge difference in your life later.

Also keep in mind that a system that penalizes women who take time out of work or lower paying jobs to be the child bearers and caregivers of family members both old and young and then pays them less in the bargain, does so on the backs of women. Shouldn’t government be able to give something back in retirement for a woman’s service to society?