More effort needed to narrow gender pay gap: #tellusatoday

This article was originally posted on USA Today

President Obama proclaimed April 12 National Equal Pay Day. According to Census data, women, on average, make 79 cents for every dollar men make. Facebook comments edited for clarity and grammar:

You don’t pay more than you have to. If I can hire anyone at a cheaper rate, I will.

Corporations have lawyers burning the midnight oil trying to wiggle around laws. The bigger question: Why don’t women say “take this job and shove it”?

—Steven Beebe

The gender pay gap is misinformation and skewed methodology. I know female school teachers who would have to take pay cuts to equalize with males.

—Dave Somerville

In private business, there is no such thing as equal pay. You can be a 10-year engineer and still make less than a two-year engineer because maybe that two-year engineer brought in new clients and money.

—Quang Nguyen

Policing the USA

We asked our readers what they thought could be done to narrow the pay gap. Tweets edited for clarity:

Paid family leave. Not only would it possibly close the gap, but it has virtually no negative effect on business.

—@ssssaaraahhhh

Transparency, with employers and human resources disclosing salaries to workers and prospective employees. Don’t shroud income in secrecy.

—@ClementJessicaH

The wage gap is a myth.

—@mb2982

In general, it seems that women aren’t as aggressive at negotiating.

—@MarineRebb

We have to get out of this mindset that women are “damsels in distress.” Womencan be just as strong as men and are often more capable.

—@Alloverthemap10

For more of this conversation and others, follow @USATOpinion or #tellusatoday on Twitter.

Letter edited for clarity and grammar:

What do strong unions have to do with gender pay equity? As we celebrated Equal Pay Day on April 12, we needed to look at gender equity and the role of unions. A study by Rutgers, the AFL-CIO and the Solidarity Center indicates there is a direct link between growing income inequality and declining unionization. Equalizing benefits of union membership is more substantial for women.

Collective bargaining has made significant strides for women in the workforce. In 2014, women made up 45.5% of union membership in the U.S. Those women earned an average of 30.9% more per week than their non-union counterparts. Unionized women make 88.7 cents to every dollar men make, compared with the average of about 79 cents. In 2014, Latina labor union workers earned on average 42.1% more weekly than individual Latinas. As of 2013, 76.6% of union women had health insurance compared with 51.4% of non-union working women.

As unions are attacked and their funding is undermined, we have to remember what unions represent for women. They signify pay equity, social protections and job security. If we are serious about ending the gender pay equity gap, strong unions are essential.

Radhika Balakrishnan; New York