Achieving equal pay is an important milestone for human rights and gender equality.
The Womxn’s Center Equal Pay Day Timeline
1963
The “Equal Pay Act” is passed, with the basic principle of “equal pay for equal work.”
Ongoing
Womxn are being overrepresented in the informal sector where these informal jobs are not protected under labor laws, leaving these womxn to be trapped in low-paying, unsafe working environments, with no social benefits.
April 11, 1996
The National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) announced ‘National Pay Inequity Awareness Day’ as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men’s and womxn’s wages
A Tuesday was selected to represent how far into the work week a womxn must work to earn what men earned the previous week.
This also launched the Equal Pay Days for womxn of color including Latina Equal Pay Day, Black Womxn’s Equal Pay Day, AANHPI Equal Pay Day, LGBTQIA+ Equal Pay Awareness Day, Native Womxn’s Equal Pay Day, NHPI Women’s Equal Pay Day, and Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day.
1998
‘National Pay Inequity Awareness Day’ was renamed to Equal Pay Day.
2019
The U.S. House of Representatives passes the “Paycheck Fairness Act” to help close the race and gender gaps in pay, but the Senate lets it sit.
Present
Today, the gender pay gap persists with womxn continuing to live in opportunity gaps, with lower social protection coverage than men, higher levels of temporary and precarious work, and informal employment.
Action and raising awareness must continue to close the gender pay gap.
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