Equal Pay Today!

The Equal Pay Today! campaign calls for action to end the following practices that contribute to the gender wage gap:

• Less pay for the same job: Women are paid less than men in nearly every occupation.
• Job segregation: Sex role stereotypes lead to women being segregated into female-dominated lower-paid jobs and impose barriers to women’s entry into higher-paid male-dominated occupations.
• Retaliation against workers for discussing their pay: A majority of employees report that they are either prohibited or actively discouraged from discussing their salary.
• Pay reductions due to pregnancy and caregiving responsibilities: Employers pay women less from the moment of hire and deny them promotions based on gender stereotypes about the proper role for women and the assumption that women workers will have children and either leave the workforce or commit less time and dedication to their jobs. Some employers also refuse to provide pregnant workers with the same minor adjustments to their jobs that the employers routinely provide to other employees who are temporarily unable to perform all aspects of their jobs.
• Wage theft: Women in many industries are being paid less than minimum or a living wage, being shorted hours, being forced to work off the clock, not being paid overtime, or not being paid at all.

The Equal Pay Today! campaign has sent letters to every Governor in the country asking each to commit to work to close the wage gap in his or her state.

Campaign members include: A Better Balance, American Association of University Women, American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project, California Women’s Law Center, Equal Rights Advocates, Gender Justice, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, Legal Momentum, Legal Voice, National Center for Law and Economic Justice, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Women’s Law Center, Southwest Women’s Law Center, Women Employed, Women’s Law Project.