R 159

2017 -- S 0699 Enacted 04/04/2017

S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING APRIL 4, 2017, AS "EQUAL PAY DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Senators Goldin, Lynch Prata, Metts, DiPalma, and Lombardi

Date Introduced: April 04, 2017

WHEREAS, The Equal Pay Act was signed 54 years ago however, since that year, the

wage gap between working women and working men has narrowed by less than half a cent per

year; and

WHEREAS, According to the nonprofit Institute for Women's Policy Research in 2015,

among full-time workers, women still earn less than men, earning only 80 percent of what men

earn. Additionally, a wage gap persists between the genders when further analyzed by educational

attainment, age groups, race and ethnicity; and

WHEREAS, Economist Evelyn Murphy, president of The Wage Project, estimates that

during the average 47 years of full-time work the wage gap amounts to a loss in wages for a

woman of:

• $700,000 for a high school graduate;

• $1.2 million for a college graduate; and

• $2 million for a professional school graduate; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, Rhode Island women were more likely to live in poverty (16

percent of women compared to 12.6 percent of men). Women therefore have higher rates of

economic insecurity than do men and are thus more likely to rely on public benefits like

Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps) and

housing assistance; and

WHEREAS, The wage disparity over a woman's working lifetime has a tremendous

impact on Social Security benefits and pensions, and in 2010, women 50 and older received only

56 cents for every dollar received by men in income from pensions and annuities; and

WHEREAS, The three time, and current, World Cup champion and four time Olympic

gold medalist United States Women's Soccer Team brought in twenty million dollars more in

revenue in 2015 for the United States Soccer Federation than did the men's soccer team, yet the

members of the multiple world champion women's team are paid approximately four times less

than the men's soccer team members; and

WHEREAS, The economic impact of this persistent pay inequality is far-reaching: if

women in the United States received equal pay with comparable men, poverty for working

women would be reduced by half and the U.S. economy would add $482 billion (equivalent to

2.8 percent of 2014 gross domestic product) to its economy; and

WHEREAS, Closing the gender wage gap would not only increase women's earnings, it

would grow each state's economy. Equal pay would provide a significant boost to the economy;

and

WHEREAS, With equal pay, a working woman in Rhode Island would see an average of

$6,066 increase or a 14 percent increase in pay which is 2.9 percent of the state's gross domestic

product (GDP); and

WHEREAS, According to federal data, it is estimated that it could take 70 more years

before the wage gap between men and women completely closes; and

WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Commission on Women is dedicated to leading reforms

involving equal pay for the women and girls of Rhode Island, and to recognizing the full value of

women's skills and significant contributions to the labor force; and

WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Commission on Women encourages businesses to

conduct an internal pay evaluation to ensure that women are being paid fairly; 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 4th symbolizes the date on which the wages paid to

American women catch up to the wages paid to American men during the previous year; now,

therefore be it

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

Providence Plantations hereby proclaims April 4, 2017, as "Equal Pay Day" in the state; and be it

further

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

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Women's Fund of Rhode Island.

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