NOW - NEW YORK STATE SUPPORT MEMO
A-2712 (John) S-3936 (Johnson)
- The New York State Fair Pay Act
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Petition to Pass Pay Equity Legislation
The National Organization for Women – New York State, Inc. strongly supports the passage of bill A02712/S3936 which will enact the New York State Fair Pay Act. In light of the continued wage gap between men and women in New York State , a concrete law is needed to ensure that it will be unlawful for employers to discriminate between employees on the basis of sex, in addition to race and ethnicity, by paying different salaries. According to the U.S. Women's Bureau and the National Committee on Pay Equity, as of 2005, women earned 77% of what men earned for comparable jobs. And in its testimony on the status of pay equity in New York State , the Cornell University Institute for Women and Work noted that “women in New York State , like all American women, suffer from the gender wage gap. This inequity has particularly devastating impact on the growing numbers of women who function as heads of their households. The wage gap, however, cuts across all occupations, education and income levels. The negative consequences on this archaic compensation disparity are ultimately extremely harmful to women, families and society.” The Institute also made notice of the fact that “it is estimated that the average woman will lose approximately $420,000 over her working lifetime.”
Women are currently the fastest growing segment of the working population, and are increasingly either supporting their families or making substantial and necessary contributions to the household income. Thus, it is not an option for most women to leave the labor force, no matter how seriously they are underpaid. This situation of under-compensation for women has many negative results. It depresses wages and living standards for women, and reduces family incomes while increasing poverty rates for households led by women. The wage gap between women and men also violates the state's public policy against discrimination.
Eradicating wage discrimination based upon sex will have many positive effects. These include fixing economic issues created by wage discrimination, promoting the existence of stable families, reducing the incidence of poverty among working women, and the desegregation of the work place.
New York State is very out of touch with the needs of its female workers. Women have the right to earn the same wages as men in comparable jobs or with comparable skills, and should not have to worry about discrimination in the work place contributing to negative living situations or socioeconomic circumstances. Enactment of the New York State Fair Pay Act will be a step in the direction of equality for women in New York State , and the National Organization for Women – New York State, Inc. thus strongly urges its passage.
Petition to Pass Pay Equity Legislation Marcia A. Pappas, President, NOW-NYS, Inc.
Donna Jones, Chair, Workplace Issues Task Force
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