Subject:

Got a (fair) paycheck?

Your message to friends:

Dear Friend,



"If you would wear lower cut shirts, you would probably get more pay." "You don’t have the right equipment... you aren’t male, so you can’t expect to be paid the same." "Men are here to make a career and women aren’t. Retail is for housewives who just need to earn extra money." "Women will never make as much money as men... God made Adam first, and so women would always be second to men." [1]



What!? All of these comments are stomach-turning things that Wal-Mart managers said to female employees seeking pay raises and promotions. Comments like these and many more are the reason why Betty Dukes and other women who worked at Wal-Mart set out to seek justice in what is now the largest employment discrimination case in history. While Betty Dukes and her courageous fellow plaintiffs do their part to raise this issue in the courts, we need to back them up and continue to fight for federal legislation that would strengthen enforcement of existing, weak fair pay laws.



How, you ask, can I help? By shining a light on the problem. Any woman who has suffered pay discrimination can help the fight for fair pay and back up the Women of Wal-Mart by sharing your experiences to show just how wide spread this problem is in our nation. (See below for a list of questions to get you thinking about your experiences).



*Share your experiences - or the experiences of friends or family - here: http://action.momsrising.org/go/423?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=4&source=taf



Your experiences are powerful. They show leaders that there are real people behind the statistics who need real solutions. MomsRising will compile and deliver your stories and letter signatures to elected officials and lawmakers with the message: Don’t shortchange moms and daughters – families need equal pay for equal work" on Tuesday, April 12, Equal Pay Day – the day that marks the date in 2011 when women will have finally earned the same amount of money, for the same work, what men earned in 2010.



(And, if you don’t have an experience to share but would like to sign the open letter to Congress calling for fair pay, click here: http://action.momsrising.org/go/824?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=6&source=taf )



Here are some questions to get you started thinking about your experiences:



**Have you ever had managers tell you that you aren’t qualified for raises or promotions because you’re a woman and/or a mom?

**Have you ever learned that male colleagues with the same qualifications as you are earning more for the same work?

**Have you ever trained a new male colleague who has the same position you do, only to find they make more than you do?

**Or, have you ever experienced managers telling you - or your friends - that male colleagues are more deserving of pay raises because they have families to support?



Has any of the above happened to you or someone you know? Do tell! Just click here: http://action.momsrising.org/go/423?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=8&source=taf



Chances are that unfair pay has impacted your life in some way. Data recently released by the U.S. Census found that women who worked full-time, year round on average still made 23 cents less for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. (This marks no change from 2008’s wage gap and amounts to nearly $11,000 per year in lost earnings). And, the wage gap for women of color in 2009 was even more staggering than for women overall. When Black and Hispanic women work full-time, year round, they only make 62 and 53 cents, respectively, for every dollar their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts earn. [2] Further, a recent study found that with equal resumes and job experiences, mothers were offered $11,000 lower starting salaries (fathers, on the other hand, were offered $6,000 more in starting salaries than non-fathers). [3]



Since over 80% of women in our nation have children by the time they're 44 years old, this means the majority of women in our nation are touched by this type of wage discrimination at some point in their lives.



To say families are struggling right now is an understatement. In 40 states, the average annual cost for center-based child care is higher than a year’s tuition and related fees at a four-year public college. [4] Nationwide, climbing gas prices have now reached over $3.50 per gallon. [5] Many jobs that are available during this painfully slow economic recovery don't pay enough to cover the costs of basics like food and health care. [6] That means that women and mothers are facing pay discrimination simply for being women and mothers, which further compounds families’ sufferingduring this economic downturn.



Equal pay for equal work is critical to ensuring our families’ economic security.



And, at Wal-Mart, it was more than just horribly sexist comments like those at the start of this letter to you today that's impacting women; data analysis revealed a big problem with wage and promotion discrimination at Wal-Mart, our nation's largest employer: According to a statistical reportpreparedby Dr. Richard Drogin, a plaintiffs’ expert in the Wal-Mart case, "Women employees at Wal-Mart are concentrated in the lower paying jobs, are paid less than men in the same jobs and are less likely to advance to management positions than men. These gender patterns persist even though women have more seniority, have lower turnover rates, and have higher performance ratings in most jobs." [7]



What!? Even though women had better seniority and performance reviews they were paid less for the same work and advanced slower?! Not good!



* Don't forget to lend your voice to this fight by sharing your (un)fair pay and pay discrimination experiences here: http://action.momsrising.org/go/423?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=10&source=taf



Or, if you don't have an experience to share right now, sign the open letter to Congress here: http://action.momsrising.org/go/824?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=12&source=taf



MomsRising will compile and deliver your stories, and letter signatures, to elected officials and lawmakers on Tuesday, April 12, Equal Pay Day, with the message: Don’t shortchange moms and daughters – families need equal pay for equal work.



* Please be sure to forward this email to your friends and family who you know will take action too.



Together we’re a more powerful force for women and families.







P.S. If you don't have an experience to share you can still make sure your voice is heard on this important issue by signing, and if you want, personalizing, our petition to Congress to support fair pay policies. We’ll deliver this petition along with the pay discrimination stories on Tuesday, April 12.





[1] National Women’s Law Center, "Dukes v Wal-Mart: Why the Supreme Court Should Stand with Working Women," fact sheet, March 2011



[2] US Census and NWLC Blog: State Wage Gap Shows Little or No Improvement since 2008



[3] http://action.momsrising.org/go/91?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=22&source=taf



[4] "Parents and The High Cost of Child Care: 2010 Update," National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. http://action.momsrising.org/go/825?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=24&source=taf



[5] AAA Fuel Gauge Report http://action.momsrising.org/go/826?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=26&source=taf



[6] "Many Low-Wage Jobs Seen as Failing to Meet Basic Needs," The New York Times, March 31st, 2011. http://action.momsrising.org/go/827?ak_proof=1&akid=.1625756.y_kLH5&t=28&source=taf



[7] Joan S. Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner "The Motherhood Manifesto: What America's Moms Want - and What To Do About It," Nation Books, 2006



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