HJ0047 LRB096 12290 GRL 25119 r

1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The future of our nation's productivity and
3 competitiveness in the global marketplace depends on the
4 success of all men and women; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Women have been discriminated against in
6 education, the workplace, and society as a whole; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Women continue to earn no more than 78 cents on
8 the dollar compared to men; and
 
9     WHEREAS, The pay gap has been shown to start as soon as one
10 year after college; this inequality affects not only women, but
11 their families and society as a whole; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The pay gap between women and men has long-term
13 effects on women's economic security; such a gap affects
14 women's Social Security earnings, their ability to save for
15 retirement, and their children's education; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Pay equity is closely linked to the eradication of
17 poverty and is essential to having a highly-motivated
18 workforce; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Equal Pay Day was originated by the National

 

 

HJ0047 - 2 - LRB096 12290 GRL 25119 r

1 Committee on Pay Equity in 1996 as a public awareness event to
2 illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages; the day,
3 observed in April, symbolizes how far into the year a woman
4 must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the
5 previous year, with Tuesday being the day in which women's
6 wages catch up to men's wages from the previous week; because
7 women earn less on average than men, they must work longer for
8 the same amount of pay; this wage gap is even greater for most
9 women of color; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Equal pay is a priority for all women and for our
11 society at large; therefore, be it
 
12     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
13 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
14 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate April 28, 2009 as
15 Pay Equity Day in the State of Illinois in order to raise
16 awareness about this endemic inequity.