08-R161

2008 -- H 8185

Enacted 04/22/08

H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING APRIL 22ND OF 2008 TO BE "PAY EQUITY DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Representatives Giannini, Walsh, Rice, Baldelli-Hunt, and Williams

Date Introduced: April 22, 2008

     WHEREAS, Forty years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil

     Rights Act, women continue to suffer the consequences of inequitable pay differentials; and

      WHEREAS, According to statistics released in 2006, the average weekly wage for full-

time working women was only 81% of the earnings of year-round, full-time working men,

indicating little change or progress in pay equity; and

      WHEREAS, If women received the same salary as men who worked the same number of

hours and had the same education or union status, and are the same ages and live in the same

region of the country, then these women’s annual family income would increase by $4,000, and

poverty rates would be cut in half; and

      WHEREAS, According to an analysis of data, in over 300 classifications provided by the

U.S. Department of Labor Statistics in 2001, women earn less in every occupational classification

for which enough data is available, including occupations dominated by women (e.g., cashiers,

retail sales, registered nurses and teachers); and

      WHEREAS, Higher education is not free from wage discrimination according to a U.S.

     Department of Education analysis. The figures affirm that after controlling for rank, age,

credentials, field of study and other factors, full-time female faculty members earn nearly 9% less

than their male counterparts; and

      WHEREAS, Over a working lifetime, this wage disparity will cost the average American

woman and her family an estimated $700,000 in lost wages, impacting Social Security benefits

and pensions; and

      WHEREAS, Fair pay equity policies can be implemented simply and without undue

     costs or hardship in both the public and private sectors; and

     WHEREAS, Fair pay strengthens the security of today’s families and eases future

     retirement costs, while enhancing the American economy; and

      WHEREAS, Tuesday, April 22 symbolizes the point of time in the next year in which

the wages paid to American women catch up to the wages paid to men from the previous year;

now, therefore be it

      RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

     Providence Plantations hereby proclaims Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 to be “Pay Equity Day” in

the State of Rhode Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this House hereby joins the Women’s Legislative Caucus of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives and the Rhode Island Business and Professional Women

in urging the citizens of this state to recognize the full value of women’s skills and their

significant contributions to the labor force. We furthermore encourage businesses to conduct an

internal pay evaluation to ensure women are being paid fairly; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

     transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Director of the Rhode Island Division of

Human Resources, and the State of Rhode Island Commission on Women, the Rhode Island

Coalition for Pay Equity, and the President of the Business and Professional Women of Rhode

Island.

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LC02720

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