[432] MTSU GROUPS’ ACTIVITIES COMMEMORATE PAY EQUITY DAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MTSU GROUPS’ ACTIVITIES COMMEMORATE PAY EQUITY DAY
Women Still Lag Behind Men in Equal Pay Battle 46 Years after Federal Law Signed

(MURFREESBORO) –When the federal Equal Pay Act was signed into law in 1963, a woman in the United States earned only 59 cents for each dollar a man earned. Today, according to 2007 statistics from the National Committee on Pay Equity, a U.S. woman earns only 78 cents for each dollar a man earns.
To draw attention to this imbalance, the June Anderson Women’s Center, the Women’s Studies Program, the President’s Commission on the Status of Women and the Murfreesboro chapter of the American Association of University Women are co-sponsoring Pay Equity Day on Tuesday, April 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Keathley University Center knoll.
Volunteers will distribute literature explaining the disparity and offering suggestions for action. Supporters are encouraged to wear red to dramatize women’s ongoing struggle of being “in the red.”
In addition, Dr. Jackie Gilbert, professor of management and marketing, will speak on the topic “Equal Pay, the Individual and the Institution” at 2 p.m. in Room 100 of the James Union Building (the Faculty Senate room). This presentation is free and open to the public.
“Especially during tough economic times, its’ important to continue to promote this agenda,” says Terri Johnson, director of the Women’s Center. “People forget about inequality, and those who are behind fall even farther behind.”
For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2913 or jawc@mtsu.edu.