- The Equal Pay Act.
The Equal Pay Act passed in 1963, required
that men and women be given equal pay for equal work
in the same establishment, but we didn't
get there without a fight.
By 1963, the Equal Pay Act had been
nearly 100 years in the making.
In 1870, Congress actually passed a bill prohibiting pay
discrimination based on gender for federal jobs,
but the bill got watered down in the Senate
and was never really enforced, a problem that would come back
to haunt women a century later.
Over the next 93 years, women's rights groups and labor
organizations alike would advocate for equal pay
for women with some minor advancements,
but culture would soon change.
World War II brought an increase in jobs without the men
to fill them.
Women went from 24% of the US workforce
to 37% leading unions to take up the cause for equal pay.
Twice in the 1940s legislation was proposed
to enforce equal pay for women on a federal level,
first in 1944 by Congresswoman Winifred Stanley, then
in 1945 by the National Labor Board,
but despite much public support on both sides of the aisle
the bills were never passed.
Why?
Well, some argue blatant sexism, others say the government had
to prioritize employing veterans returning from war,
and still others point to the wealthy business owners who
fought the legislation in order to get away
with paying women a lower wage.
As the war ended, some women left their jobs,
but others remained.
By 1960, there were nearly 25 million women working,
but they were earning only $0.59 to every dollar earned
by their male counterparts.
This all came to a head in 1961 when labor activist Esther
Petersen became head of the women's bureau
in the Department of Labor.
She took up the cause urging President
John F. Kennedy to establish the Commission
on the Status of Women.
Through her work she drafted the Equal Pay Act,
but it wouldn't pass without a fight.
Both the Chamber of Commerce and the national retail merchants
association opposed it, arguing women
were more expensive to employ than men due to absenteeism
and turnover.
In other words, women were more likely to miss work because
of childcare and pregnancy.
In the end, the Equal Pay Act passed and was enacted
to ensure that women and men were paid the same
for the same work, which apply to all forms of compensation,
salary overtime, bonuses, stock options, life insurance,
vacation, and benefits.
Difference in pay was permitted in cases of affirmative defense
as such as seniority, merit, and quantity, or quality
of production, definitions that are open to interpretation.
Many employers use this vague language
to their advantage applying maneuvers
like simply changing a job title to justify paying women less.
Equal Pay Act also did little to protect women
from other workplace related discrimination,
but subsequent legislation stepped in to fill the gaps,
like the Educational Amendment of 1972
most well known for Title IX, which prohibited discrimination
on the basis of sex in educational institutions that
receive federal aid, and the Pregnancy Discrimination
Act of 1978, which protected pregnant women
in the workplace, and the Family and Medical
Leave Act of 1993, which gave added protections to men
and women in the workforce.
Despite the loopholes and limitations
the Equal Pay Act had a tremendous impact on society,
challenging stereotypes about women,
inviting more women into the workplace,
and reducing the pay gap.
Women went from earning $0.59 of every dollar
a man earned in 1960 to $0.77 in 2011.
Change is happening, but slowly.
And even today activists still continue
the fight to make the workplace a fair, safe, and equal
environment.