When Women Do Better, Wisconsin Does BetterWhat the Wage Gap Means for Wisconsin Women

The workforce is changing. Workplace policies are not.

•Women are completing a higher level of education and taking key decision making roles more than ever before.

•Women comprise half the entire paid labor force for the first time in history.

•70% of moms work outside home.

•Most families need two breadwinners to make ends meet. Women’s income is vital to their family’s economic security.

•Women face the effects of the pay gap from their first job until long after they have stopped working. Women lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, up to over a million, over their careers. That means less retirement savings for tomorrow –earning less, there is less to save, and social security and pensions are based on earnings

http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook-2012.pdf

What is Equal Pay Day?

• Tuesday April 8, 2014, is Equal Pay Day, the date we recognize and protest the wage gap that exists between working women and men and between workers of color and white workers across the country.

• Tuesday symbolizes how far into a second week a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned in the previous week.

• April represents how far into a new year women must work to earn what men earned just in the previous year. Protestors and advocates wear red to show that pay for women and people of color is still in the red.

The Pay Gap is real… and getting worse.

•On average, a man earns $48,202 while a woman on average earns $37,118—and the gap has been increasing yearly.

•The pay gap is worse for women with a higher level of education

http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/04/Pay-Gap-by-State-Fall-2013.png

Women don’t choose to earn less.

But a significant pay gap exists and for the first in many years is widening for women and women of color at all levels of education and across all occupations

The Pay Gap is worse for African American women

African American women only make 70 cents for every $1 men make on average, and even less- 64 cents for every dollar a white man makes.

If the pay gap were eliminated, for an African American woman, it would mean:•More than 2 years’ worth of food,•Almost 10 months’ worth of mortgage and utilities,•More than 16 months of rent,•More than 3 years’ worth of family health insurance premiums, or•4,549 additional gallons of gas.

http://go.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/Wage_Gap_for_African_American_Women_in_20_States.pdf?docID=11702

And even worse for Latina Women

Latinas only make 60 cents for every $1 men make on average, and even less - 55 cents for every $1 white men make.

If the pay gap were eliminated, for a Latina, it would mean:•More than 3 years’ worth of food,•More than 1 year of mortgage and utilities,•Nearly 2 years of rent,•Almost 5 years’ worth of family health insurance premiums, or•5,743 additional gallons of gas.

http://go.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/Wage_Gap_for_Latinas_in_20_States.pdf?docID=11701

What this means for Wisconsin women

• Together, women who are employed full time in Wisconsin lose

about $8,314,309,512 yearly because of the pay gap. Closing the pay gap would result in:

•86 more weeks of food,•7 more months of mortgage and utility payments,•14 more months of rent, or•2,799 additional gallons of gas

http://go.nationalpartnership.org/site/DocServer/Wage_Gap_wi.pdf

What this means for Wisconsin women

http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/09/Wisconsin-Pay-Gap-2013.pdf

We Can Do Better• We can’t make real progress in closing the wage gap until we

strengthen enforcement of existing anti-discrimination laws and give women the tools they need to get the pay they deserve. Strong enforcement of our equal pay laws is one important step to ending discrimination and closing the pay gap.

• We need to tackle discrimination, properly value women’s care work, and create better policies and programs to educate and train women for higher paying jobs.

• We should ask our legislators to support workplace and public policies for paid sick days and family leave insurance, a minimum wage increase including for tipped workers, and provide equity for part-time and temp workers.

• Women voters were instrumental in sending many new lawmakers to Congress – including a record number of women - now we have to hold their feet to the fire.

The Solution• Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 84/H.R. 377) which was

reintroduced in Congress in January 2013. The PFA would close loopholes in our existing equal pay laws, prohibit retaliation against workers who ask about or share wage information, and empower women to better negotiate salary and benefit increases. Equal work deserves equal pay.

• Pass the Equal Pay Enforcement Act (SB 143/AB 269) which was reintroduced in Wisconsin on April 10th, 2013 by Senator Dave Hansen and Representative Chris Sinicki (right) that mirrors the Paycheck Fairness Act.

• The PFA would play a critical role in our nation’s economic recovery. Every cent counts in these tough economic times, when more women are primary family breadwinners or co-breadwinners than ever before. Wage discrimination must end.

• Pay equity is good for the economy and working families – it reduces poverty, stimulates the economy and increases women’s economic security. It reduces stress-related health problems and health care costs. Providing pay equity and offering workplace flexibility helps employers recruit and retain the most qualified employees in their field, and is proven to increase productivity and profits.

How do we get there?

• Become a member of 9to5 WI and be a part of the movement for economic justice. PLUS, it’s our membership drive and we have a special $20 rate!

• Visit our website- www.9to5.org/wisconsin, like us on Facebook- www.facebook.com/9to5milwaukee, and follow us on Twitter- @9to5WI

• Share your experience with workplace discrimination and the pay gap to give the issue a voice!

• Become a 9to5 Action Leader and grow our chapter in your community

• Call your State Legislator about Equal Pay.

Questions? Want to Learn More?

Martha De La Rosa

9to5 Wisconsin State Director

414-274-0920

martha@9to5.org

9to5.org/wisconsin

www.facebook.com/9to5milwaukee

@9to5WI