Equality in salaries
Erin McCarthy
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
Observers of Equal Pay Day donned their red clothing Tuesday, April 28 in order to spread awareness of extreme pay disparities among various demographic groups.
The Western Illinois University Women's Center encouraged the community to participate in the National Committee on Pay Equity's annual observance of Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, April 28 to raise awareness about unfair pay for women and people of color in America.
EPD was originated by the NCPE in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men and women's wages.
According to www.pay-equity.org, the day symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year. Tuesday was the day on which women's wages caught up to men's wages from the previous year.
"People are encouraged to wear red to symbolize how far women are 'in the red' with their pay," said Janine Cavicchia, director of the Women's Center.
For the past 13 years, women's business and professional associations, labor groups, civil rights organizations and others have committed to equal pay organized activities to increase awareness about how to solve wage equity. On Western Illinois' campus, three students from Dr. Jan Welsche's Women's Studies 455 class organized the past week's activities as a feminist action project.
"Trisha Brondyke, Lucie Fricano and Chrissy Hemberger have been volunteering with us this semester and have done a great job of planning this year's events," Cavicchia said.
Last Tuesday, April 21, the Women's Center staff and volunteers held an information display in the Union Concourse to distribute information about EPD, along with packets of Equal sugar and Pay Day candy bars. On Saturday, April 25, Cavicchia, Dr. Peter Cole, associate professor of history, and Dr. Collette Arens Bates, assistant professor of management, were guests on Cathy Early's "Public Perspective" radio program on WJEQ, (102.7 FM), and they discussed pay equity.
The Western Illinois University Women's Center encouraged the community to participate in the National Committee on Pay Equity's annual observance of Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, April 28 to raise awareness about unfair pay for women and people of color in America.
EPD was originated by the NCPE in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men and women's wages.
According to www.pay-equity.org, the day symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year. Tuesday was the day on which women's wages caught up to men's wages from the previous year.
"People are encouraged to wear red to symbolize how far women are 'in the red' with their pay," said Janine Cavicchia, director of the Women's Center.
For the past 13 years, women's business and professional associations, labor groups, civil rights organizations and others have committed to equal pay organized activities to increase awareness about how to solve wage equity. On Western Illinois' campus, three students from Dr. Jan Welsche's Women's Studies 455 class organized the past week's activities as a feminist action project.
"Trisha Brondyke, Lucie Fricano and Chrissy Hemberger have been volunteering with us this semester and have done a great job of planning this year's events," Cavicchia said.
Last Tuesday, April 21, the Women's Center staff and volunteers held an information display in the Union Concourse to distribute information about EPD, along with packets of Equal sugar and Pay Day candy bars. On Saturday, April 25, Cavicchia, Dr. Peter Cole, associate professor of history, and Dr. Collette Arens Bates, assistant professor of management, were guests on Cathy Early's "Public Perspective" radio program on WJEQ, (102.7 FM), and they discussed pay equity.
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