Equal Pay for Equal Rights

“This event corresponds with the mission of AAUW perfectly because AAUW strives for gender equality for everyone, so to recognize this day is to recognize the mission of AAUW.”

On Tues, Apr 10, Equal Pay Day was nationally recognized as the day that women’s pay “catches up” to men’s. Basically, up to this day, women have been working for free. 

In order to bring attention to this issue, the American Association of University Women, or AAUW, put together an event that they called “Party Like It’s 2059”. 

Co-chair of the group, Nelofar Sultan, gives more information about this event. “We called it that because with the rate the gap is closing right now, it will take it until 2059 to fully close.” To put it in perspective, a 20-year-old woman right now will be 61 by the time they are able to earn as much as a man does and their granddaughter’s daughter might be earning the same as a man for the same work. 

Luckily though, there is a way for people and society to change this so that the wage gap closes much more quickly. “There are many things people can do to strive for equal pay! One of the most important things to do is to acknowledge the fact that wage gap exists; it is not a myth, women are paid less than men for the same amount of work. After accepting this fact, it is important to know that equal pay is not just women’s issue, it is something both genders need to work on. Being mindful of these things can help in closing the wage gap as it is a way to hold your employers accountable for such practices. And as for women specifically, we need to negotiate our salaries more. It is known that women generally do not negotiate their salaries which is part of the problem. If we don’t ask for it, we will never get it.” 

AAUW has been working with men and women, not only on campus but in Madison and around the United States, to ensure that everyone is earning the equality that they deserve. The event is just one more way to bring attention to the fact that women everywhere are victims of inequality and wage disparity.