SR0925 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0925 LRB102 26858 LAW 37904 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

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

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

WHEREAS, Nationally, women working full time and year round continue to earn no more than 83 cents on the dollar compared to men working full time and year round; and

WHEREAS, The wage gap is even greater for most women of color; Asian American and Pacific Islander women earn 75 cents on the dollar; Black women earn 58 cents on the dollar; Native American women earn 50 cents on the dollar; Latina women earn 49 cents on the dollar; and

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

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

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

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

WHEREAS, Although Equal Pay Day represents all women, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women's Equal Pay Day is May 3, 2022, Black Women's Equal Pay Day is September 21, 2022, Native American Women's Equal Pay Day is November 30, 2022, and Latina Equal Pay Day is December 8, 2022; and

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

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare March 15, 2022 as Equal Pay Day in the State of Illinois in order to raise awareness about this endemic inequity.