12-R207
2012 -- H 8073
Enacted 04/12/12
H O U S E R E S
O L U T I O N
PROCLAIMING
APRIL 17, 2012, AS "
Introduced By: Representatives Walsh, Tanzi, Tomasso, Cimini, and Costa
Date Introduced: April 12, 2012
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, According to statistics released in 2011 by the U.S. Census
Bureau, year-
round, full-time working women in 2010 earned only 77
percent of the earnings of year-round,
full-time working men, indicating little change or progress in
pay equity; and
WHEREAS, According to a January 2002 report released by the U.S.
Government
Accountability Office (the investigative arm of
Congress), women managers in 7 of 10 industries
surveyed actually lost ground in closing the wage gap between
1995 and 2000; 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 United
States Department of Education analysis, which
reported that, after controlling for rank, age,
credentials, field of study, and other factors, full-time female
faculty members earn nearly 9
percent less than their male counterparts; and
WHEREAS, Over a working lifetime, this wage disparity costs the
average American
woman and her family $700,000 to $2 million in lost wages,
impacting Social Security benefits
and pensions; 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, Tuesday, April
17, symbolizes the time in the new year in which the wages
paid to American women catch up to the wages paid to men
from the previous year; now,
therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this House of Representatives of the State of
Providence Plantations
hereby declares April 17, 2012, as “Rhode Island Pay Equity Day” to
recognize the full value of women's skills and significant
contributions to the labor force, and
encourages businesses to conduct an internal pay evaluation to
ensure women are being paid
fairly; 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
Director of the Department of
Administration, the
Personnel Administrator of the Division of Human Resources, and the Co-
Chairs of
the Legislative Commission on Pay Equity.
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LC02412
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