equal pay

Erie County Government is observing All Women's Equal Pay Day, a day marked to raise awareness of ongoing gaps in pay between women and men. Elected leaders are marking the day by urging support for a statewide ban on wage-history discrimination.

The World War II homefront was a special time and place for American women. With some 16 million men off to fight in Europe, North Africa and the Pacific, the war effort at home depended on women, who rolled up their sleeves and went to work in factories in unprecedented numbers — a mighty army of Rosie the Riveters. For the first time, the societal strictures that tethered women to unpaid work at home were loosening — and yet it was understood that when the men returned, the women would go back to being second-class citizens.

It's a long-known truth that women and men who work the same job do not bring home the same amount of pay. Local women's advocates provided updated statistics on Thursday that show the gap remains wide for all women, but is worse for women of color. And women's groups say the inequality hurts not just the women but families and the entire economy.

Officials in Erie County observed National Equal Pay Day Tuesday. The symbolic day aims to draw attention to the issue of income inequality between working men and women.

Women's coalitions held news conference all across New York State Thursday urging support for Governor Cuomo's Women's Equality Act.