NOW and the Wage Project: Working Toward Pay Equity

By NOW Staff

May 7, 2007

The National Action Center continues to encourage NOW chapters to engage in a dialogue about wages, pay equity, and women-friendly workplaces in their communities across the country. A recent survey conducted by the WAGE Project revealed that 70% of women reported unfair treatment in the workplace. More than half of these women say they continue to work under unfair conditions despite being aware of the inequality. The survey also found that working women rank equal pay as one of their greatest concerns along with the lack of affordable, quality child care and the lack of health care benefits. Read more about the survey results and about pay equity.

NOW's Women-Friendly Workplace campaign has long encouraged women to call out those employers who do not cultivate and demand workplace environments free from sexual harassment and discrimination. Women can organize within communities to demand women-friendly workplaces that pay and promote women fairly. Launch a campaign to raise awareness about the local businesses and their treatment of women: start a WAGE Club in your community and use the pay gap calculator to determine how much the gap in pay will cost you over your lifetime.

While women wait for businesses and corporate leaders to treat them fairly, activists can help mobilize women and men in their community to support legislation for economic justice. The Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 766 and H.R. 1338), introduced by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), aims to reduce the pay gap by enhancing enforcement of the Equal Pay Act, training enforcement officials, and permitting employees to share salary information with co-workers without punishment.

NOW members and WAGE Club members also can support the Fair Pay Act, a strong measure sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), which would prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, race or national origin, and would require equal pay for jobs that are comparable in skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.

Women working together in chapters, clubs, and communities can assist each other in identifying strategies that will help women ask for, and receive, equal pay and fair treatment. Activists also can raise awareness in the community about both the women-friendly businesses and the companies that need to do a better job of ending discrimination against women. Both employers and policy-makers must play roles in achieving gender pay equity. We urge members of Congress and state legislators to sponsor and advocate for laws that require fairness and equality in the workplace.