LIHU‘E — Charlene Uli‘i Castor wore red, Tuesday. So did Regina Carvalho, wife of Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., along with Savita Agarwal, Lisa Ellen Smith, Kanai Alapa, Linda Bothe and Jade Battad. Tuesday was designated Equal Pay Day, symbolized
LIHU‘E — Charlene Uli‘i Castor wore red, Tuesday.
So did Regina Carvalho, wife of Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., along with Savita Agarwal, Lisa Ellen Smith, Kanai Alapa, Linda Bothe and Jade Battad.
Tuesday was designated Equal Pay Day, symbolized by the women, members of the county’s Status of Women, wearing red.
Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the current year a woman must work to earn as much as a man earned in the previous year based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Almost 47 years have gone by since the passage of the Equal Pay Act becoming law, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal work, but women continue to earn only 78 cents on the dollar to their male counterparts and minority women face an even larger wage gap, states a mayoral proclamation presented to the county’s Status of Women group.
“In this tight economy with families struggling to make ends meet, every penny counts,” said Charlene Uli‘i Castor, chair of the Kaua‘i County Committee on the Status of women. “I believe that by raising awareness about pay inequity between women and men, we can continue to close the gap which exists.”
Enforcement of the EPA and other civil rights laws has helped to narrow the wage gap, but significant disparities still affect women of all ages, races and education levels, the proclamation states. The Paycheck Fairness Act which passed the House in 2009 will strengthen the EPA.
“I encourage everyone to join me in acknowledging the disparities of wage discrimination and to commit to actions toward pay equity for women in the workforce,” Carvalho said in a release. “It’s not just a women’s issue, it’s also about families being hurt by lost wages and reduced pensions and Social Security benefits.”
President Barrack Obama’s administration is working to advance pay equity in the United States, the first bill Obama signed into law, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, advances the struggle, allowing more women to challenge pay discrimination by extending the timeline when complaints can be filed.
The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act empowers women who have been discriminated against in their salaries to have their day in court to make things right.
Obama also established the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force to identify persistent challenges to equal pay enforcement and ensure equal pay laws are vigorously enforced throughout the country.
In issuing the April 12 being Equal Pay Day proclamation, Kaua‘i joins a national movement on pay equity.
Fair pay strengthens the security of families today and eases future retirement costs while enhancing the American economy, the proclamation states.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
