Under heavy pressure from AAUW members and our coalition partners, the Senate narrowly failed to pass a vote to move forward with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 2831). See how your senator voted on April 23, 2008, and contact your senators about their vote.

AAUW believes that the narrow legislative fix contained in the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would more justly allow victims of pay discrimination to seek vindication, and AAUW and its members will not stop until the Senate gets it right by adopting this critical measure. Use AAUW's Two-Minute Activist to write and thank the senators who supported the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and urge them to continue to push for another vote on the bill. Express your extreme disappointment to those senators who voted against the Ledbetter bill, and urge them to support this and other pay equity legislation in the future.

Show your Senators the Face of Pay Equity!  Send a strong signal to your senators that, in honor of Equal Pay Day, pay discrimination will not be tolerated. Upload a picture of yourself to send with your message to show your senators that you are the face of pay equity. Visit AAUW's Activist Photo Album to see other AAUW activists who have already shown the face of pay equity to their senators.

Behind the Pay Gap, research released in April 2007 by AAUW, shows that just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues, even when they work in the same field. Ten years after graduation, the pay gap widens. In 2005, the most recent year for which data is available, women continue to earn only 77 cents on the dollar to their male counterparts. To match men's earnings for 2007, women have to work from January 2007 to April 2008 — an extra four months.

In recognition of this inequity, Equal Pay Day will be celebrated on April 28, 2009.

AAUW strongly supports efforts to close the persistent wage gap between men and women. It is critical that we remind the country and our leaders that equity is still an issue, and improved laws and effective enforcement are essential in eliminating wage discrimination.

• AAUW's Pay Equity Resource Kit (PDF). This resource kit contains a variety of useful resources to help you take action on Equal Pay Day and beyond. We’ve included information about state and federal legislation, and step-by-step suggestions to help you pursue pay equity projects.
  
  
• More Equal Pay Day activities.
  
  
• Read AAUW’s Behind the Pay Gap research. Just one year after college graduation, women earn only 80 percent of what their male counterparts earn. Ten years after graduation, women fall further behind, earning only 69 percent of what men earn. Even after controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors known to affect earnings, the research indicates that one-quarter of the pay gap remains unexplained and is likely due to sex discrimination. Over time, the unexplained portion of the pay gap grows.
  
  
• Read AAUW's Public Perception of the Pay Gap research. Eighty-one (81) percent of women and 69 percent of men agree that there is a difference between the wages of male and female full-time workers.
  
  
• Use AAUW's Gains in Learning, Gaps in Earning research to find out the pay gap is between college-educated men and women in your state.

For more information, call 202/785-7793 or e-mail VoterEd@aauw.org.

AAUW Public Policy and Government Relations

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