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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION


 
2    WHEREAS, The future of our nation's productivity and 
3competitiveness in the global marketplace depends on the 
4success of all men and women; and

 
5    WHEREAS, Women have been discriminated against in 
6education, the workplace, and society as a whole; and

 
7    WHEREAS, Women continue to earn no more than 78 cents on 
8the dollar compared to men; and

 
9    WHEREAS, The pay gap has been shown to start as soon as one 
10year after college; this inequality affects not only women, but 
11their families and society as a whole; and

 
12    WHEREAS, The pay gap between women and men has long-term 
13effects on women's economic security; such a gap affects 
14women's Social Security earnings, their ability to save for 
15retirement, and their children's education; and

 
16    WHEREAS, Pay equity is closely linked to the eradication of 
17poverty and is essential to having a highly-motivated 
18workforce; and

 
19    WHEREAS, Equal Pay Day was originated by the National 
 
 
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1Committee on Pay Equity in 1996 as a
public awareness event to 
2illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages; the day, 
3observed in April, symbolizes how far into the year a woman 
4must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the 
5previous year, with Tuesday being the day in which women's 
6wages catch up to men's wages from the previous week; because 
7women earn less on average than men, they must work longer for 
8the same amount of pay; this wage gap is even greater for most 
9women of color; and

 
10    WHEREAS, Equal pay is a priority for all women and for our 
11society at large; therefore, be it

 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
13NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE 
14SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate April 17, 2012 as 
15Pay Equity Day in the State of Illinois in order to raise 
16awareness about this endemic inequity.