Gender Pay Equity - are we there yet?

Thursday, May 21, 2015

By Assemblymember Bill Dodd

It’s graduation season, and many young people are celebrating their accomplishments and preparing for the next chapter in their lives. As I reflect on the promise of this generation and all they will accomplish, I also find myself concerned with the state they are inheriting. Pay equity is one of the fundamental issues we must address to provide our children a brighter future and a better state to call home.

Our state often leads the nation in social change. However, one area that has been greatly overlooked has been the promotion of equal pay for women. Through no fault of their own, women across the nation over the past decade have continued to earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns on average. Did these women only pay 77% of the cost of their education? Did they only attend class 77% of the time? No, they didn’t. So why then should female graduates enter a workforce make less than their male counterparts for doing the exact same work?