Pay Gap is a Man's Issue, Too

The Pay Gap is a Man's Issue, Too	Take Action!
On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal  Pay Act into law, giving women the promise of equal pay for equal  work.  And yet today, 47 years later, woman still get paid only 77  cents on average for every dollar a man makes; women of color  still face an even wider pay gap; and we're still fighting for pay  equity.  The wage gap is obviously a problem for women, but what's not  often talked about is that it's also a problem for men.  Women now  comprise 50 percent of the paid workforce for the first time in  history, and two-thirds of mothers are either the primary or co- breadwinners for their families.  The wages women earn have  never been more important to individual families or the overall  American economy. The wage gap may hit women directly, but it clearly affects men  as well.  Over the course of a year, the gender pay gap results in  the average woman earning $10,622 less than she should be  taking home.  How important is that money to the husband who  was laid off and is still depending on his wife to get the family  through his period of unemployment?  How significant is that  money to the son who starts college in the fall and is counting  on his mother to help him shoulder the enormous cost of tuition?   How different would the economy look if women were actually  receiving that money every year?  Did you know that men of  color face a pay gap, too, when compared to white men? That's why, as we mark the anniversary of the Equal Pay  Act and anticipate Father's Day just around the corner,  we're asking you to get the men in your life involved in  our efforts to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act as well.   Forward this alert to all the men you know and ask them to urge  their senators to quickly move and pass this critical legislation.   Then, consider giving Dad the gift of AAUW membership for  Father's Day.  After all, it literally pays dividends. Women need the updated protections and tools the Paycheck  Fairness Act can provide, and so do men.  The bill passed the  House well over a year ago with strong bipartisan support, and  new polling data just released by the Paycheck Fairness  Act Coalition, of which AAUW is a key leader, shows that  84 percent of voters support a new law like the Paycheck  Fairness Act.  But the Senate has been sitting on it for far too  long.  Take Action! In honor of the Equal Pay Act anniversary today, urge your  senators to move the Paycheck Fairness Act by clicking on  the "Take Action!" link in the upper right corner or copying and  pasting the following URL into your internet browser.  Then,  with Father's Day approaching, forward this email or use the  "Tell a Friend" option to urge all the men in your life to take  action as well. http://capwiz.com/aauw/issues/alert/?alertid=15100991 Learn more about the Paycheck Fairness Act, and see what  the wage gap is in your state.  Add an Equal Pay websticker to your site or blog and a Twibbon to your avatar, and share your thoughts about how pay equity affects men on AAUW  Dialog, Facebook, and Twitter.  You can also visit AAUW's  Pay Equity webpage and download the Pay Equity Resource  Kit and Pay Equity Program in a Box for ideas, tips, and resources to use in your community throughout the year.