HomeMy WebLinkAboutEqual Pay Day- 3.15.224, ,
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Proclamation
WHEREAS, 59 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act, women, especially minority
women, continue to suffer the consequences of unequal pay. According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, women working full time, year-round in 2020 in the United States" typically earned83%percent of what men earned, indicating minimal change or progress in pay equity; and
WHEREAS, according to Graduating to a Pay Gap, a research report by the AmericanAssociationofUniversityWomen (AAUW), the gender pay gap is evident one year after college
graduation, even after controlling for factors known to affect earnings, such as occupation,
hours worked, and college major; and
WHEREAS nearly four in 10 mothers are primary breadwinners in their households,
and nearly two-thirds are primary or significant earners, making pay equity critical to
families' economic security. A lifetime of lower pay means women have less income to save
for retirement and less income counted in a Social Security or pension benefit formula; and
WHEREAS, in 2009 the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law, which gives
employees their day in court to challenge a pay gap, although the Paycheck Fairness Act,
which would have amended the Equal Pay Act by closing loopholes and improving the law's
effectiveness, continues to languish in Congress; and
WHEREAS the annually released "Gender Pay Gap by State"by AAUW provides
suggestions for state legislative fixes, Act 108, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, is a significant
step toward ensuring that the pay disparity between men and women diminishes in Hawaii.
Fair pay equity policies can be implemented simply and without undue costs or hardship in
both the public and private sectors; and
WHEREAS, Tuesday, March 15 symbolizes the time in 2022 when the wages paid to
American women catch up to the wages paid to men from the previous year,
NOW, THEREFORE, I, MITCHELL D. ROTH, Mayor of the County of Hawaii, do hereby
proclaim Tuesday, March 15, 2022 as:
EQUAL PAY DAY
in the County of Hawaii and urge the citizens of Hawaii to recognize the full value of
women's skills and significant contributions to the labor force and further encourages
businesses to conduct an internal pay evaluation to ensure women are being paid fairly.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused The Seal of the
County of Hawai`i to be affixed. Done this 15`" day of March 2022, in Hilo, Hawai`i.
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