WHY CARE? Maybe it’s someone you know – a neighbor or spouse. Maybe it’s you. But women and people of color in the U.S. are still underpaid for the work they are doing - 77 cents on the dollar as compared to the highest paid group, their white male counterparts. Those are dollars that don’t add up every week, making Pay Equity a family pocket book issue! www.pay-equity.org

- Singles: About 50% of American women live without a spouse which demolishes the myth that women need less money because they have “someone to lean on.”
- Moms: In NYC, a single mom and her preschooler needed about $39,000 to live in Brooklyn and over $60,000 to live in South Manhattan in 2004, just for a basic standard of living. But, the median income for a single mother was
about $26,000. Government subsidies help fill some of the gap between income and the reality of city life. How does she choose between good childcare and necessary healthcare and healthy food?
- Professionals: Higher education isn’t protection from pay inequities, though it increases annual incomes. NY women with professional degrees earn 67% of what their male counterparts earn!
- Aging Workers: Over a working lifetime, wage disparity costs $700,000 to $2 million in lost wages, impacting families every day, but also Social Security benefits and pensions.
- Private Sector Workers: Private for-profit companies have the widest gender gap! The greatest gender parity is in the federal government where Pay Equity policies exist.

This loss of earnings - every day, every year - affects the lives of these workers, their families, and our community. It is the product of society’s undervaluing the work of women and people of color. It’s time for a change!

Stronger legislation is key. Call for passage of the NYS Fair Pay Act (A.2712/S.3936)!