Credit: State Rep. Brian Sims
Numerous leading advocates, including Democratic State Rep. Tina Davis, held a rally on Tuesday in support of legislation that would address Pennsylvania’s pay gap.
April 4 had already been defined as “Equal Pay Day.”
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The Harrisburg rally, which was hosted by the American Association of University Women and Business and Professional Women, addressed Davis and other representatives sponsorship of HB 830, HB 931, and a yet-to-be-titled pending bill.
According to officials, HB 830 would significantly increase the fines for violating the equal pay law, HB 931 is modeled after the Massachusetts pay equity law, and a pending bill that is designed to combat secrecy that hides unequal pay and increases protections for employees who file an equal-pay complaint.
“Pennsylvania’s equal pay law hasn’t been updated in nearly 60 years. This is unfair and economically self-defeating, because pay disparity affects everyone. Women are breadwinners, taxpayers, caregivers, soldiers, heads of families, scientists, educators and much more. It’s time that Pennsylvania had an equal-pay law that provides equal pay,” said Davis.
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Proponents of the legislation noted their work is response to Pennsylvania women who are paid on average 54 to 83 cents for every dollar a man makes, depending on their county. Their statistics suggest that in Pennsylvania, the wage gap costs women $430,480 over a 40-year career compared to a man – meaning a woman in Pennsylvania has to work until she is 71 years old just to make what a man does by the time he is 60.
