Women are still in the red when it comes to pay. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, women today, on average, are paid only 76 cents in wages for every dollar that men are paid. That represents a snail-like increase of less than a cent per year since the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963, when women were paid 59 cents compared to a man###s dollar in wages. If the same pace continues, we may not achieve parity until 2042!
Equal Pay Day is a national, community-based public awareness event held each year throughout the United States. Sponsored by the National Committee on Pay Equity, a coalition of major civil rights organizations, women###s groups, trade associations and labor unions, Equal Pay Day involves thousands of local advocates in programs and activities focused on eradicating wage discrimination against women and people of color. Local Equal Pay Day partners organize rallies, lobby days, speak-outs, letter-writing campaigns, workshops, and meetings with employers, policy-makers, and enforcement agencies to promote effective solutions for closing the wage gap. Red is worn on this day as a symbol of how far women and minorities are in the "red" with their pay.
For legislative background, a wage gap map of the U.S., and activity ideas for Equal Pay Day go to http://www.feminist.com/fairpay/epd2003.htm