Equal Pay Day is April 17, 2012

Hundreds of women and men have attended previous Equal Pay Day activities in Southwest PA since 2006. WGF is once again partnering with local organizations to bring you Equal Pay Day activities in Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties!  Read below to learn about activities in your own community, and how YOU can get involved!

Allegheny County
Equal Pay Day Rally 2012:  Economic Justice for All
And “PayDay” Sale (hosted by WGF GirlGov Alumni)
Friday, April 13^th from 12:00 – 1:00pm
Location: Market Square, Downtown Pittsburgh

WGF will host Equal Pay Day Rally 2012: Economic Justice for All in Market Square on April 13th with organizing partners, New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive  Justice (NVP) and the American Association of University Women Pennsylvania (AAUWPA) to raise public awareness about equal pay, and the need for economic justice for all to reduce poverty.

The rally will feature an Equal Pay Day song led by AAUWPA, dynamic speakers on the intersectional topics of  employment, healthcare and voter identification, an Economic Justice Resource Fair of 20+ local organizations and the “Bring Change for Change” fundraising campaign to fund Economic Justice in our region organized by New Voices Pittsburgh. In addition, the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project will bring awareness to how lower and inequitable wages force many women to rely on the food pantry to feed their families. Gently used tote bags will be collected at the Rally. WGF volunteers from local high schools will also be selling PayDay candy bars to help illustrate the wage gap; men will be charged $1 per item, and women will be charged 75 cents.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
New Voices Pittsburgh:  Women of Color for Reproductive Justice

Fayette County
Iron Jawed Angels Film Screening
Tuesday, April 17 from 12:00 – 2:oopm
Location: Penn State Fayette Swimmer Hall

Sponsorsed by BPW at Penn State Fayette. Introduction of movie by Bobbi Dobler, BPW-PA State President and Kristan Miller, student member of BPW at Penn State Fayette.
Pattycakes will sell cupcakes – discount rate for women.
Open to the PSU Fayette Campus Community.

Equal Pay Day Rally and Block Party presented by MyOWN
Thursday, April 19 at 4:30pm
Location: Rally held on Fayette County Courthouse Steps and Block Party starts immediately after at the State Theater.

Rally and interactive booth with oral histories of local, state, and national women who served in leadership and/or advocacy positions regarding women’s issues.
Booth will also feature give-aways and handouts.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gina Jones MPA MSW GCDF

Greene County
Equal Pay Bake Sale at West Greene High School
Tuesday, April 17th
GirlGov alumni will host a bake sale at West Greene High School.
Open only to WGHS students and staff.

Washington County
Commissioners will issue a proclamation in recognition of Equal Pay Day
Thursday, April 5th at 10:00am
Washington County Courthouse Annex Building

Ask Mary Jo Column  in Observer-Repoerter
Thursday, April 12th
Newspaper column will feature teen reactions to the wage gap and information about upcoming conference (see below)

Youth Conference 
April 17^th  from 9:00am- 1:30pm
Location:  Washington and Jefferson College
Will include a speaker on the wage gap,  bake sale where women pay according to the pay gap, and filming of PSAs about the wage gap by teens attending the conference.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mary Jo Podgurski, RNC, EdD
President, Academy for Adolescent Health, Inc.
Director, The Washington Hospital Teen Outreach
Adjunct Professor, Washington and Jefferson College

Westmoreland County
Equal Pay Day Week
Tuesday, April 10^th through Monday, April 16^th
Seton Hill University Feminist Collective officers and members will sit outside of campus lunch and dinner, promoting the Equal Pay Day Rally with give-away products, for-sale products, information packets, and Rally sign-ups.

Faculty Panel: Pay Equity and Gender Issues
Wednesday, April 11^th from 7:30pm-9:00pm
Seton Hill University faculty will form a panel of experts, fielding questions and discussion points from attending students.  We will discuss gender issues, pay equity specifically.  Coffee and snacks will be provided.

Equal Pay Day Rally
Tuesday, April 17^th  from 11:45am-1:00pm
March from Seton Hill University to the Westmoreland County Courthouse. Speakers will give mini-presentations at the courthouse. During our march from Seton Hill University to the courthouse, we will carry an equality banner that individuals have signed.

All Westmoreland County events are hosted by the Feminist Collective at Seton Hill University

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan E. Eichenberger, Ph.D.

Women and Girls Foundation and Equal Pay Day

When the Women and Girls Foundation first began efforts to raise awareness of the wage gap and remedy this issue in Southwest PA, women were making less than 70 cents for every dollar a man was making. Since then, WGF has worked with city and county leaders throughout the region to pass wage equity legislation and to support the issue of fair pay for women. Now, in 2012, women are making 75 cents to a man’s dollar. We have made change happen in our region, but there is still significant work to be done in Southwest PA and throughout the state to close the gap for women in Pennsylvania.

Equal Pay Day is commemorated annually, when groups organize nationally to raise awareness of the gender wage gap throughout the country. This day, each April, symbolizes how long it takes for women to catch up to men’s wages from the previous year. While men earn their wages in 365 days, on average it takes women 483 days. Nationally, women make an average of 80 cents for every dollar a man makes and in Pennsylvania, women make 75 cents per dollar.

Join the Movement!

Just take your picture holding the Will Work for Equality sign (or make your own) and take the Equality Pledge, then send us both docs to info@wgfpa.org and we’ll add your pic to our online gallery!

Dr. Goddess’ Poem

View the poem by Dr. Goddess entitled I Apologize: An Open Poem to My Mother (Freda C. Ellis) and All Hardworking Women Who Are Misunderstood.