Equal Pay Day Rally
FREE – Open to the public
WEAR RED!!
When: April 8th 1:00 p.m.
Where: YWCA Parlor, 118 Vine Street
The YWCA of Evansville and other professional and community organizations in Evansville will mobilize on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 to call attention to the persistent and sizable gap between men’s and women’s wages. According to latest US Census Bureau on average, fullâ€time working women earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. In the state of Indiana, the gap is even wider with women earning just 73 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The gap is even worse for women of color in Indiana with Africanâ€American women earning 67% and Latina women earning 55% of men’s wages. Over a lifetime of work this loss adds up, as women lose out on over $500,000 in a lifetime due to the wage gap.
April 8th symbolizes the day when women’s wages catch up to men’s wages from the previous year. Every year in April, thousands of women’s, civil rights, labor, and community organizations from across the United States come together for a national day of action promoting fair pay known as Equal Pay Day. The YWCA is encouraging the community to wear red on April 8th to show that women are “in the red†with their pay.
“Equal pay for equal work sounds like common sense to most people, yet 51 years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law the pay gap persists and women continue to be short changed.†said Erika Taylor, YWCA CEO.
Members of the Human Relations Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, the Evansville Human Resources Association, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. will stand with the YWCA at 1:00 p.m. on April 8th when Evansville Mayor, Lloyd Winnecke, will issue a special proclamation at the Equal Pay Rally.
The YWCA will also announce that a special committee comprised of business leaders and human resource professionals is being formed to work together to address the wage gap in our region. “The Evansville Human Resources Association supports equal pay for equal
work and opposes compensation practices that are discriminatory,†said Tela Erdell, EHRA President. “The EHRA believes that employers should create compensation programs that are designed to ensure appropriate treatment of all employees and those compensation programs should be determined by the market and employer needs. EHRA encourages
organizations to perform compensation audits to ensure that compensation practices aren’t discriminatory.â€
“When women are short changed, families are short changed. The YWCA is committed to bringing key community stakeholders together to work to eliminate the wage gap in our region,†said Erika Taylor, YWCA CEO. “We encourage businesses to pay women fairly, push for laws that will enforce current equal pay legislation and educate women on how to negotiate for higher salaries.â€
The YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The YWCA has been serving the Evansville area since 1911 and from its inception has provided housing and services for women and girls. The Evansville YWCA is a member of the YWCA of the U.S.A., the oldest and largest women’s membership movement in the country.
Over the years, YWCA programs have changed to meet the evolving needs of women and girls. In 1979, the YWCA opened the first domestic violence shelter in Evansville. Other current programs include a Transition Housing Program for women in recovery, Emergency Shelter for homeless women and children, an afterâ€school and mentoring program, called Live Y’ers, for atâ€risk girls in grades three through 12, and a Summer Fun day camp for schoolâ€aged children. Special programs and events for the general public are also offered. Visit www.ywcaevansville.org for more information.
Hizzoner is going to make a public appearance today? That’s a surprise!
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