Equal Pay Day Quiz

Research indicates that occupational choice, industry choice, labor market experience, union status, hours worked, and a variety of other factors (e.g., cash/benefits tradeoff, salary expectations, etc.) explain a substantial portion of the raw gender wage gap.

Section 206 states:
"an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee."

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 amended the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at eliminating wage disparities based on gender.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was designed to protect the civil rights of African-Americans following the American Civil War.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation, unequal voter registration requirements, and discrimination in the workplace and in public accommodations.
The Family and Medical Leave Act allows eligible employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

The unadjusted gender pay gap is 23 cents per hour. This is most frequently expressed in the "77 Cents" statistic: women earn 77 cents for every $1.00 earned by their male counterparts.

"Equal pay for equal work" refers to the concept that individuals who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions within the same establishment should be paid the same.
"Comparable worth" refers to the concept that different job titles that have the same value to the employer should be paid the same. The foundation of comparable worth is the notion that the jobs typically performed by women are undervalued in the marketplace.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would create a competitive grant program to develop salary negotiation training for women and girls.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2009, the ratio of female-to-male median annual earnings in Washington, DC is 88%. The ratio in New York is 83%. The ratio in Illinois is 77%. The ratio in California is 83%.

According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research Fact Sheet April 2011, the ratio of female-to-male median weekly earnings for computer software engineers is 90.9%. The ratio for chief executives is 72.1%. The raio for physicians and surgeons is 71.0%. The ratio for computer and information systems managers is 81.8%.

The "Paycheck Accrual Rule" of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act originally reset the time period for filing a claim with the issuance of each new discriminatory paycheck:

(e)(3)(A) For purposes of this section, an unlawful employment practice occurs, with respect to discrimination in compensation in violation of this title, when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, or when an individual is affected by application of a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, resulting in whole or in part from such a decision or other practice.

(B) In addition to any relief authorized by section 1977A of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), liability may accrue and an aggrieved person may obtain relief as provided in subsection (g)(1), including recovery of back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge, where the unlawful employment practices that have occurred during the charge filing period are similar or related to unlawful employment practices with regard to discrimination in compensation that occurred outside the time for filing a charge.