1/5
March 15 (UPI) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will take part in a White House event Tuesday commemorating Equal Pay Day and announce new actions to promote women’s employment and support working families nationwide.
Equal Pay Day was established by the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1996, with the date symbolizing how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned the previous year.
The March 15 date marks the earliest day in the year Equal Pay Day has been held and represents that women make 83 cents on the dollar compared to men, up from 82 cents in 2021 when the event landed on March 23.
“The earlier that Equal Pay Day arrives, the closer our nation has come to achieving pay fairness,” Biden said in a proclamation designating March 15 as Equal Pay Day for 2022. “But while we should celebrate the progress we have made, as I have said in the past, we should not be satisfied until Equal Pay Day is no longer necessary at all.”
Experts say that pay disparities are even greater for Black, Native American, Latina and Asian women compared to White men. Disabled women earn 80 cents for every dollar compared to men with disabilities.
Also, when comparing all female workers and all male workers — regardless of how many hours they worked — women were typically paid 73 cents for every dollar paid to men, meaning that a woman would have to work until she is 72 to be paid what a man earns by age 60, according to Forbes. Female workers lose about $417,000 over a 40-year career due to the pay gap.
Team USA celebrates their victory in the women’s soccer bronze medal match during the
2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, on August 5, 2021. Members of the team will participate in Tuesday’s event at the White House. Photo courtesy U.S.
Soccer WNT/Twitter
Ahead of Equal Pay Day a year ago, Biden signed an executive order establishing the White House Gender Policy Council to advance gender equity, equal rights and opportunities for women and girls.
This year, the White House announced new actions intended to close the gap.
“First, the administration will advance pay equity for the federal workforce,” a senior administration official told reporters. “Next, the administration will promote efforts to achieve pay equity for employees of federal contractors.
“And finally, the administration’s actions tomorrow will increase equitable access to good-paying jobs. And this is really a continuation of the work that we are already doing.”
Officials said that Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first female vice president, will lead Tuesday’s summit at the White House.
Also in attendance will be second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.
Members of the women’s soccer team recently settled a historic lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation over unequal pay. Under the agreement, the federation agreed to pay members of the team $24 million and guarantee bonuses that are equal to what men receive.
“Getting to this day has not been easy,” both sides said in a joint statement last month. “The U.S. Women’s National Team players have achieved unprecedented success while working to achieve equal pay for themselves and future athletes.”
Biden, the first lady and Harris will speak at the White House event, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday.
