SCR 30, as introduced, Jackson. Equal Pay Day.
This measure would declare April 9, 2013, as Equal Pay Day.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, Fifty years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act,
2women, especially women of color, continue to suffer the
3consequences of unequal pay; and
4WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau,
5full-time women working year round in 2011 earned on average
677 percent of the earnings of their male counterparts, with African
7American women earning only 68 percent and Latino women
8earning only 59 percent of wages paid to men, indicating little
9change or progress in pay equity; and
10WHEREAS, While several measures of educational achievement
11show that on average women are faring as well as their male
12counterparts today, often these gains do not translate into
13comparable economic success beyond college; and
14WHEREAS, A study in 2012 by the American Association of
15University Women found that one year after college graduation,
16women were paid on average only 82 percent of what their male
17counterparts made; and
P2 1WHEREAS, In 2009 the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed
2into law, which gives back to employees their day in court to
3challenge a pay gap, but Congress has yet to pass the Paycheck
4Fairness Act, which would amend the Equal Pay Act by closing
5loopholes and improving the law’s effectiveness; and
6WHEREAS, According to one estimate, college-educated
7women working full time earn more than a half million dollars
8less than their male peers do over the course of a lifetime; and
9WHEREAS, Recent budget cuts to California’s community
10colleges have made it harder for women to obtain a degree or enroll
11in courses resulting in a dramatic decrease of women’s enrollment
12in community colleges since 2007; and
13WHEREAS, Nearly four in 10 mothers are primary breadwinners
14in their households, and nearly two-thirds are significant earners,
15making pay equity critical to families’ economic security; and
16WHEREAS, A lifetime of lower pay means women have less
17income to save for retirement and less income counted in a Social
18Security or pension benefit formula; and
19WHEREAS, The American Association of University Women
20in a 2011 report found that according to the United States Census
21Bureau, women marketing and sales managers earned $59,491 in
222009, compared with $89,933 for their male peers; women
23physicians and surgeons earned $120,971, compared with $190,726
24for their male peers; and women securities, commodities, and
25financial services sales agents earned $52,524, compared to
26$85,760 for their male peers; and
27WHEREAS, Fair pay equity policies can be implemented simply
28and without undue costs or hardship in both the public and private
29sectors; and
30WHEREAS, Tuesday, April 9, 2013, symbolizes the time when
31the wages paid to American women catch up to the wages paid to
32men from the previous year; now, therefore, be it
33Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
34thereof concurring, That the Legislature declares April 9, 2013,
35as Equal Pay Day; and be it further
36Resolved, That the citizens of California are urged to recognize
37the full value of women’s skills and significant contributions to
38the labor force, and that businesses are encouraged to conduct an
39internal pay evaluation to ensure women are being paid fairly; and
40be it further
P3 1Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
2this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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