NYWA Hosts the Equal Pay Coalition at Hunter
Issue date: 11/26/08 Section: News
Sabrina Fong
Senior Staff Writer
Many people are aware of the Equal Pay Act passed by JFK in 1963. However, what most people are unaware of is that the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Supreme Court case has since overturned that act. In fact, women today earn an average of 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. To discuss this wage disparity, the New York Women's Agenda (NYWA) coordinated a "Fair Pay: The Time is Now" forum in Hunter's Faculty Dining Room on the 8th Floor on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Hunter College President Jennifer Raab began the event with a speech explaining the prevalence of this issue in Hunter. She pointed out that most of Hunter's 20,000-student body is comprised of women.
Panel moderator Maria Hinojosa, an award-winning writer, echoed Raab's introduction in her own introduction of the panel members, all of whom are experts about wage disparity. She emphasized, however, that although those on stage are experts, "we [the audience] are all experts because we are all working women."
The roundtable discussion began with the implications for equal pay of the newly-elected executive. The response for this was one of hope. Panel member, Lilly Ledbetter, the plaintiff in the historic Ledbetter v. Goodyear Supreme Court case, in which she sued Goodyear management for consistently paying her less than her male counter-parts, exclaimed that this administration is great for women: "Obama gets it. Michelle Obama gets it." Like many Americans, she said, "they worked their way up from our schools."
Besides the election of a new progressive president, the campaign trail itself was revolutionary. "Women are really coming into their own," said panel-member Dr. Pamela Stone, a Hunter Professor of Sociology who has authored several books. "We had Sarah Palin [as] recent Vice Presidential Candidate."
Still, Stone said, more progressive leadership is not enough to prompt reform. Women must be willing to take a stand and speak up, Stone stressed. "We are not talking about this enough. 'Gender' and 'race' are dirty words in America."
Senior Staff Writer
Many people are aware of the Equal Pay Act passed by JFK in 1963. However, what most people are unaware of is that the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Supreme Court case has since overturned that act. In fact, women today earn an average of 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. To discuss this wage disparity, the New York Women's Agenda (NYWA) coordinated a "Fair Pay: The Time is Now" forum in Hunter's Faculty Dining Room on the 8th Floor on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Hunter College President Jennifer Raab began the event with a speech explaining the prevalence of this issue in Hunter. She pointed out that most of Hunter's 20,000-student body is comprised of women.
Panel moderator Maria Hinojosa, an award-winning writer, echoed Raab's introduction in her own introduction of the panel members, all of whom are experts about wage disparity. She emphasized, however, that although those on stage are experts, "we [the audience] are all experts because we are all working women."
The roundtable discussion began with the implications for equal pay of the newly-elected executive. The response for this was one of hope. Panel member, Lilly Ledbetter, the plaintiff in the historic Ledbetter v. Goodyear Supreme Court case, in which she sued Goodyear management for consistently paying her less than her male counter-parts, exclaimed that this administration is great for women: "Obama gets it. Michelle Obama gets it." Like many Americans, she said, "they worked their way up from our schools."
Besides the election of a new progressive president, the campaign trail itself was revolutionary. "Women are really coming into their own," said panel-member Dr. Pamela Stone, a Hunter Professor of Sociology who has authored several books. "We had Sarah Palin [as] recent Vice Presidential Candidate."
Still, Stone said, more progressive leadership is not enough to prompt reform. Women must be willing to take a stand and speak up, Stone stressed. "We are not talking about this enough. 'Gender' and 'race' are dirty words in America."
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