SR0149 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0149 LRB102 17555 LAW 23199 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The future of our nation's productivity and competitiveness in the global marketplace depends on the success of all men and women; and

WHEREAS, Women have been discriminated against in education, the workplace, and society as a whole; and

WHEREAS, Nationally, women working full time and year round continue to earn no more than 82 cents on the dollar compared to men working full time and year round; in Illinois, women earn 81 cents on the dollar compared to men; and

WHEREAS, The wage gap is even greater for most women of color; Black women earn 63 cents on the dollar, Native American women earn 60 cents on the dollar, and Latina women earn 55 cents on the dollar; and

WHEREAS, By comparison, in 2020, women earned no more than 80 cents on the dollar; women in Illinois earned 79 cents on the dollar; Black women earned 61 cents on the dollar; Latina women earned 53 cents on the dollar; women did not receive equal pay for 12 months of work in 2019 until March 31, 2020; and

WHEREAS, The pay gap has been shown to start as soon as one year after college; this inequality affects not only women but also their families and society as a whole; and

WHEREAS, The pay gap between women and men has long-term effects on women's economic security; such a gap affects women's Social Security earnings, their ability to save for retirement, and their children's education; and

WHEREAS, Pay equity is closely linked to the eradication of poverty and is essential to having a highly-motivated workforce; and

WHEREAS, Equal Pay Day was originated by the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages; the day symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year, with Tuesday being the day in which women's wages catch up to men's wages from the previous week; because women earn less on average than men, they must work longer for the same amount of pay; this wage gap is even greater for most women of color; although Equal Pay Day represents all women, Black Women's Equal Pay Day is August 3, 2021, Native American Women's Equal Pay Day is September 8, 2021, and Latina Equal Pay Day is October 21, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Equal pay is a priority for all women and for our society at large; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare March 24, 2021 as Equal Pay Day in the State of Illinois in order to raise awareness about this endemic inequity.