Fighting The Wage Gap: Thanks Lilly Ledbetter!

January 30, 2009 12:00 pm     Posted in News  Charlsie Niemiec g+ page

340x.jpgAlthough you probably do not know who Lilly Ledbetter is (I didn’t know until this past week), you should thank her.


By Charlsie Niemiec

For the last ten years of her life, Ledbetter has fought for equal pay rights in the work place for women. After experiencing pay-based discrimination because of her sex (and learning about it through anonymous letters in her work mailbox), Ledbetter filed a complaint of gender discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Making a long story short (however, you should read the whole story over at CNN), President Obama stepped in and signed the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Restoration Act this past week making the fight for women’s rights and equality better upheld through the law.

While I feel gratitude for Ledbetter’s ongoing battle with the Supreme Court and Congress to pass this act that will give women the rights they warrant and money that is rightfully theirs, I know that work is still left to be done.

It may seem hard to believe, but to this day, full-time working women get paid “on average, only 77 cents for each dollar full-time working men get paid,” according to the Wage Project. This happens in every occupation across the nation, and while it impacts women in different ways, the reality of it is that hardworking women with outstanding college degrees lose money in their pockets simply because of their sex.

Think about it. Imagine working at the same place, doing the same job as a man (who has the same degree and amount of experience as you), putting in the same hours, only to find out he is, in fact, making more money than you on an annual basis. How is that fair? It’s not, at all.

But it is reality.

Amazing women across the nation have been fighting for women’s rights for equal pay for decades now. In 1963, the Equal Pay Act (EPA) was signed by John F. Kennedy in hopes to help stop the divide within the work place. While it drew attention to issues involving work discrimination because of sex, it did not necessarily revolutionize the issue over night. Nearly 50 years ago, when the EPA was signed, women were only making 55 cents to the male dollar. In the last four and a half decades, only 22 more cents have gone into making up for those earnings.

As a young woman about to enter the workplace after college, I am outraged to know that I won’t make what my fellow male peers will. However, while it is scary to know that such discrimination still exists, I do feel some relief knowing that laws are out there to protect us, and a President looking out for us, too.

12 Comments on "Fighting The Wage Gap: Thanks Lilly Ledbetter!"

  1. thestorysofar says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 20097:12 am 

    i'm doing a project on this right now =)

    thanks for the info/link!

  2. Brittney says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 20097:31 am 

    It's important to note that a lot of the reason we make less is because we also take jobs that pay less than the jobs men take. For example, women tend to take more secretary jobs than men do, so while men are taking executive positions, we're sitting at the front desk. So it's not always just "Hey, let's pay this woman with the exact same job position as this guy a little less just cause she has a vagina" (although, it definitely CAN be), it's also because we've taken lower paying jobs (due to a number of historical and social reasons that have either encouraged us to take those lower paying/lower position jobs or prevented us from getting jobs that typically come with a higher salary).

    But thanks for bringing this issue up, it is an important one!

  3. Lauren, University o says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 20097:35 am 

    I beg to differ. This act was not put in place to get women who are secretaries more money (and I find it offensive taht you would even bring that up).

    The purpose of the act is to pay women WHAT WE DESERVE for doing the same exact work as men. That is what is happening. Women are making 77 cents to the dollar for men for doing the SAME JOB.

    ANd don't make blanket statements about women taking jobs working at the front desk. It is 2009, not 1969.

  4. C says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 20098:09 am 

    Research has also shown that women make less than men, in part, because they tend to be less willing to ask for a raise or higher starting salary. Men tend to push their employers more, so are paid more.

    I'm not saying that sex discrimination in the workplace doesn't exist, and that it doesn't affect pay – hence this bill being a great thing – but it's not the only factor.

  5. Minerva says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 200910:14 am 

    It's the difference between men and women working the same job, not the difference between two different jobs that is in question. Women and men who work the same job (not secretary vs. CEO, but CEO vs. CEO) that receive unequal pay. The idea of paying a woman more simply for being female is ridiculous to suggest, and not at all what is meant by the acts.

  6. Amy says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 200911:37 am 

    Lauren, the purpose of the act was actually to make it easier for women to sue for discrimination. It's already illegal to pay women less. You don't seem to understand what Brittney was saying. Try this: think of 5 predominantly female jobs and compare them to 5 predominantly male jobs. Nearly every "male" job will make significantly more than each "female" job. The percentage of women in "women's jobs" has not decreased all that much since 1969!

  7. R says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 20091:14 pm 

    Let me be the jerk who asks the tough question. Yes, I agree that women making less for the exact same job and performance is wrong. BUT, does that mean that men should stop paying for first dates and engagement rings? Or should the double standard continue?

  8. Jacks says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 20092:11 pm 

    C has a point. Men are much, much more aggressive when it comes to asking for raises and negotiating for higher salaries than women are, and that skews the number a bit. Many times, you are not going to get a raise if you don't ask. Of course sex discrimination is wrong, but there are other factors, and you aren't going to be given less right off the bat because you lack a Y chromosome.

  9. Matthew says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 20093:22 pm 

    This is a really important issue, even for men. If we are lucky enough to marry the love our of lives and we move in together and start a nice life a few extra bucks go a long way especially if they are due to you. If you work hard to get where you get in life you deserve the benefits of that hard work.

  10. K says:
    Fri, 30th Jan 20095:00 pm 

    I definitely don't know all the facts, but just to clear things up… This woman was paid ridiculously less money for her job than the men that performed the same job as her. Her company actually told her she was not allowed to discuss salary when she took the job. She was not able to get justice because the courts said that the amount of time she had to pursue the matter had elapsed. This law lengthens the amount of time people have to sue for gender discrimination. Even though she wasn't able to get justice for herself, she continued to fight for women's rights in the work place.

  11. Casey says:
    Sat, 31st Jan 20096:25 am 

    Although their are cases where gender discrimination does happen, did it ever occur to anyone that MAYBE the guys that are making more money are simply doing a better job? (and I don't mean a higher position, I mean are performing better then the women in the same position, just in case there was confusion) I mean like Lauren pointed out, it's 2009, not 1969 and gender discrimination isn't THAT huge of an issue in most places anymore (in this country at least). I have been with the company I am at for about a year and a half to 2 years less then one of the guys that has the same position as me, but I make 2 dollars more than him and have gotten more raises and bonuses than he has because I get better scores on my audits and I do a better job. I'm not saying gender discrimination doesn't happen, but I think a lot of what people are taking as gender discrimination is due to other circumstances like C pointed out, men are also pushier when it comes to asking for higher salaries and raises.

    Also, who takes a job with a company that is flat out rude starting at the interview? She was told she wasn't allowed to discuss her salary? Or was she told it wasn't negotiable? Cause the first is just flat out rude and she should have rethought her decision to join the company then. I know I would have.

    And Lauren, she wasn't making a blanket statement, it's a fact(yes still today in 2009) that women take more lower paying jobs, like secretary positions, then men do. Brittney obviously missed the fact that we're talking about men and women in the same position makeing different amounts, so don't jump down her throat! Jeez!

  12. Lizzy says:
    Sat, 31st Jan 200912:07 pm 

    to R: I do agree there still is a double standard when it comes to paying for certain things. Yes, I am old fashioned and love it when a guy pays for the first date. But that is no reason why men should be paid more, as it seems as though you are implying. I mean, I could use the same arguement and assert that girls have many, many more expenses than men do and thus should be paid more. We are expected to primp ourselves: waxing, clothes, beauty products treatments aren't cheap and I'd say the average girl spends thousands on these each year compared to the likely hundreds that men spend. So should women be compensated more because of these expenses? No, and this is the reason that men should not be compensated more because they are at times expected to do things like "buy an engagement ring" and "pay for the first date."

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