07-R196

2007 -- H 6303

Enacted 04/24/07

H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING APRIL 24TH, 2007 TO BE "PAY EQUITY DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Representatives Giannini, Williams, Ajello, E Coderre, and Lima

Date Introduced: April 24, 2007

     WHEREAS, Pay equity refers to the elimination of sex and race discrimination in the

setting of wages: it means fair pay for equal work; and

      WHEREAS, The gender wage gap is the difference between women’s and men’s wages,

usually expressed as a percentage difference; and

      WHEREAS, Forty years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil

Rights Act, women and people of color continue to suffer the consequences of inequitable pay

differentials; and

      WHEREAS, The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1962. At the time women were only

earning 59 percent of men’s earning. Currently, forty-five years later, women’s annual earnings

are at 77 percent of men’s annual earnings, or stated another way, women earn 23% less than men

in the same jobs; and

      WHEREAS, Over a working lifetime, estimates of what this wage disparity costs the

average American woman and her family range from $440,000 to $2 million; and

      WHEREAS, For women of color the problem is even bigger. African American women

earned only 68 percent and Latinas just 57 percent of the average earnings of all males; and

      WHEREAS, According to an analysis of data in over 300 classifications provided by the

U.S. Department of Labor Statistics in 2001, women earn less in every occupational classification

for which enough data is available, including occupations dominated by women (e.g., cashiers,

retail sales, registered nurses and teachers); and

      WHEREAS, Higher education is not free from wage discrimination according to a U.S.

Department of Education analysis, reporting that, after controlling for rank, age, credentials, field

of study and other factors, full-time female faculty members earn nearly 9% less than their male

counterparts; and

      WHEREAS, Fair pay equity policies can be implemented simply and without undue

costs or hardship in both the public and private sectors; and

WHEREAS, Fair pay strengthens the security of families today and eases future

retirement costs, while enhancing the American economy; and

      WHEREAS, While the wage gap has narrowed since 1962, women still have to work

from January until April, an extra four months to match men's earnings; and

      WHEREAS, Tuesday, April 25, 2007 is symbolic of the time in the year that a woman

must work to earn the wages paid to a man in the previous year. It is the point in the next year to

which a woman must work to achieve pay equity for the previous year; and

     WHEREAS, Pay equity is a simple matter of justice; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby proclaims April 24th, 2007 to be “Pay Equity Day” in the State of

Rhode Island; and be it further

      RESOLVED, That this House supports all efforts to attain and implement accurate and

unbiased job evaluation systems and pay setting processes to foster pay equity for all people; and

be it further

      RESOLVED, That this House recognizes the full value of all people’s skills and their

significant contributions to the labor force, and further encourages all Rhode Island employers to

conduct internal pay evaluations to ensure equity in pay; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Personnel Administration of the Rhode

Island Department of Administration, the Director of the Rhode Island Division of Human

Resources, and the State of Rhode Island Commission on Women.

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LC02884

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