National Equal Pay Day
National Equal Pay Day:
The National Equal Pay Day comes either in March or April and serves as an opportunity to campaign against discrepancies in matters payment between men and women.
Twitter Hashtags:
#NationalEqualPayDay
#EqualPayDay
Why National Equal Pay Day?
This is a day specially set aside to raise awareness about the differences in payment between men and women for when they do the same kind of work and at matching levels. The day is a representation of the extent through which a woman must work in order to earn as much as a man does doing the same kind of work. The National Equal Pay Day can be looked at as a campaign against inequality in the work place, especially in a modern age where what a man can do, a woman can also do.
The day is at least 20 years old and signifies a campaign to promote equal payment, a debate, and fight that has been going on for centuries now. Right from the beginning of the 20th century, women in the United States as well as those from other parts of the world came forward for the same campaign. In this campaign, the women demanded that they get equally paid and that their working conditions be improved. They also wanted their voting rights to be respected as well as their legal rights as human beings.
Right from this period, women have taken significant steps towards achieving equal pay with men. While the struggle remains real, employers continue with the norm of not paying women as much as they pay men doing the same jobs.
In as much as education has provided women with an advantage compared to what they used to have, statistics have shown that they are still paid almost 12 percent less than men even though they serve in equivalent capacities.
The remarkable holiday therefore, provides a rare chance for men and women alike to join in the efforts to advocate for equality in matters of payment. This is a campaign and a balance that is already long overdue.
How we can observe the National Equal Pay Day:
Some of the ways through which we can observe this special day include:
- Post on social media
The first way through which we can observe this day is by posting on social media using the handle #NationalEqualPayDay and posting this handle across social media handles. Social media is one of the fastest ways that campaigns spread nowadays as it cuts past the confines of both regional and international borders.
- Organize a peaceful demonstration
The second way to observe this day is by organizing for a peaceful demonstration targeted at opening the eyes of organizational management and employers in general towards the need for equal payments in places of work. The demonstration can be done in places of work or along with the stress for as long as there is no damage to property or shedding of blood.
- Print shirts, posters, and banners
Next, you can also observe the day by printing shirts for men and women alike which bear prints that call the attention of your intended audience and the general population towards the need for equal pay between men and women for as long as they serve in the same capacities in their places of work.
Interesting facts about National Equal Pay Day:
Some of the most interesting facts about this amazing day include the following:
- On this holiday in 2012, the NCPE honored the face of pay equity- Betty Dukes, who became as the key plaintiff charging Wal-Mart with sex-based discrimination in pay and promotion.
- On the same event in 2011, the NCPE honored Citizens across Wisconsin for defending public workers’ rights – the root of fair pay.
- On the same day in 2010, the NCPE urged passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act.
- In 2009, this holiday was marked the day the NCPE by their bold and monumental act joining the AAUW and BPW in a Congressional briefing.
- NCPE held a press conference on Capitol Hill on the National Equal Pay Day in 2008, an event chaired by CLUW in support of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
History of National Equal Pay Day:
The history of the this amazing day traces back to 1996 when the National Committee on Pay Equity raised awareness in demonstrations targeted at campaigning for payment inequities between men and women.