Wear red on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, Equal Pay Day, to symbolize how "in the red" women are with their pay.
Begun in 1996, Equal Pay Day is a public awareness event used to illustrate the gap between women's and men's wages. The April 20, 2010 date symbolizes how far into 2010 women must work to earn what men earned in 2009. The event is held on a Tuesday to show how far into the next week women must work to earn what men earned in the previous week.
In 2008, women earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. This gap widens to 58 cents for Latinas and 68 cents for African American women. (National Committee on Pay Equity) In Massachusetts, the average weekly salary for a woman is $666, while that for a man is $842. MA ranks 39th in the country for its women-to-men earning ratio. (Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women)
If you'd like to get involved, consult the National Committee on Pay Equity's Equal Pay Day Kit for suggestions.
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