In July 1848, the first gathering to raise awareness and advocate for women’s rights was held right here in New York, and our state has since remained at the forefront of the women’s rights movement. We’ve come a long way in the fight for women’s equality since that first meeting, but there’s still much more work to be done. More than 165 years later, women still do not earn equal pay for equal work. That’s why I joined our nation’s men and women in observing Equal Pay Day on Tues., April 14.

Men and women doing the same amount of work at the same skill level should be compensated equally – period. But unfortunately, that’s often not the case. In fact, women in the United States earn, on average, only 78 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. In New York State, women make only 86 percent of what men make, and minority women fare even worse – New York’s African-American women earn only 66 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.^1,2 , Here in Onondaga County, where almost 40,000 households are partially or wholly dependent on a mother’s income, women earn a startling $132 less per week than their male coworkers.³

Overall, women in the United States lose nearly $11,000 each year due to this disparity, but observing Equal Pay Day is an opportunity for us to recommit ourselves to the task of resolving pay inequity wherever it exists. ⁴ April 14 is not an arbitrary date; it represents just how far into the year women must work to match their male coworkers’ earnings from the previous year.

As your representative in the state Assembly, I’m committed to making pay equity a reality in New York State. I’m sponsoring a bill that would end wage inequality in public employment immediately (A.437). In addition, I’ll continue to support efforts to establish equal pay for equal work in all fields. I have two daughters of my own, and I want them to be treated fairly and equally.

Women like Susan B. Anthony and Central New York native, Matilda Joslyn Gage, stood on the steps of Syracuse City Hall more than 150 years ago to advocate for women’s equality, and today, pay equity is simply long overdue. I’ll keep fighting to achieve equal pay as well as to strengthen rights and protections for women. Should you have any questions about equal pay or any other community issue, please feel free to contact my office at 452-1115 or via email at StirpeA@assembly.state.ny.us.

_____________________________________

1. www.aauw.org/files/2015/02/The-Simple-Truth_Spring-2015.pdf

2. nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-pay/african-american-women-wage-gap.pdf

3. syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/04/equal_pay_day_average_working_woman_in_onondaga_county_makes_132_a_week_less_tha.html

4. www.aauw.org/files/2015/02/The-Simple-Truth_Spring-2015.pdf