President Obama issued a proclamation naming April 20 National Equal Pay Day, and numerous organizations marked the day by calling for closure of the gender-based wage gap.
Equal Pay Day marks the point in the year when women’s wages catch up to men’s wages from the previous year. Census Bureau data indicate that, on average, women earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.
Obama’s proclamation called “upon all Americans to acknowledge the injustice of wage discrimination” and reaffirmed his administration’s “pledge to erase this injustice.” According to Obama, “Our nation’s workforce includes more women than ...