Equal Pay Day at UMass- Equal Pay for Women

I got this in my email today. The irony is that the event is about 90 minutes long, and I can't afford to go. I get only 30 minutes for my lunch break, and I'd have to claim the other 60 minutes as "personal time". I don't have a lot of personal time to spare. I need to save it for when daycare is closed, or my daughter is sick, and things like that. Now my husband on the other hand has lots of time to spare. He didn't have to take a 12 week maternity leave after all. Plus he has a better job, a better union, and better benefits. Of course he doesn't have any interest in going though. I think it's pretty ironic. The people who could benefit from this event can't afford to take the time off to go to it, even if they are providing a free lunch!

Here's the ad I got :

EQUAL PAY DAY AT UMASS!
EVELYN MURPHY, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL WAGE PROJECT
CECELIE COUNTS, LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE, AFL-CIO
April 23, 2008 at 12:00 in the Cape Cod Lounge Student Union Building, UMass/Amherst

On April 23, 2008 Everywoman’s Center and the UMass Labor Center will host Dr. Evelyn Murphy, President of the National WAGE Project author Getting Even: Why Women Don’t Get Paid Like Men and What To Do About It!, who will be speaking about the reality of current wage discrimination against women in the United States and what we can do about it at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. Cecelie Counts, Legislative Representative for the AFL-CIO will speak on the status of federal pay equity legislation. A light lunch will be provided.
Equal Pay Day was originated by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages. The day, observed in April, symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year.The wage gap is even greater for most women of color. Women working full time - not part time, not on maternity leave still earn only 77 cents for every full-time male dollar, and nothing has changed in more then a decade.
Here is what it looks like over a lifetime:

• If you're a young woman who graduated last summer from high school, you will earn $700,000 less than the young man standing in line with you to get his diploma over your working life.
• If you graduated from college, you'll lose $1.2 million compared to the man getting his degree along with you.
• If you graduated from law school, medical school, or got an MBA last summer, you’ll lose $2 million over your lifetime.

These gender wage gap calculations are figured by comparing the earnings of all women who work full-time with the earnings of all men who work full-time. It's unfair, its discrimination and it's illegal!
Come to this important gathering to hear these dynamic speakers address the legacy and current reality of wage discrimination! This event is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible. Additional sponsors include: Women’s Studies, Social Thought and Political Economy, the Political Economy Research Institute, and the Status of Women Council.
For more information: call 413-545-0883 or www.umass.edu