Act for Women and Girls - ACT For Women and Girls

Welcome

The mission of ACT is:

To engage women of all ages in leadership opportunities that will promote social and personal change.

ACT's work will be accomplished by:

Building a bridge for rural women to link up to larger movements
Playing a role as a conduit for women to take these issues to the next level and affect social change (provide local leadership training opportunities)
Keeping the focus at the grassroots level

Equal Pay Day 2012

Equal Pay Day

Tuesday, April 17 was Equal Pay Day. Women and men around the United States observed this day to raise awareness about the pay gap between women and men. Nationally, women are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to a man. April marks the point in the new year a woman must work in order to earn the wages paid to a man in the previous year.

In 2009, more women were in the workforce than men. More men than women had lost their jobs. With more families relying on women’s paychecks, the United States must address the wage gap for the sake of American families and their financial stability.

Here are four ways to close the pay gap:

> Keep affirmative action programs in place. We must make sure education, jobs and promotion opportunities are open and offered to both qualified women and men.

> Ensure that employers adhere to fair pay practices and follow the U.S. Department of Labor’s equal pay self-audit guidelines.

> Women must advocate for themselves and others. They should require employers to have written policies that include pay and benefits policies, job descriptions and evaluation procedures to ensure they are equal for both women and men.

> Be aware of federal legislation such as the Fair Pay Act and Paycheck Fairness.

Pay equity is a growing national movement. States around the country are introducing pay equity legislation and women continue to recognize the importance of this legislation. At the rate we are going, the wage gap will not close for another 50 years. Women and their families cannot afford to wait that long.

Andrea Navarrette

Last Updated on Thursday, 26 April 2012 22:40