This past Tuesday, April 20, 2010, was declared National Equal Pay Day by the President of the United States, Barack Obama. As many of you may already know, women throughout history have been at a great disadvantage to men. This is especially true when it comes to their wages. Even though some progress has been made to address the fact that women receive lower wages than men for the same jobs, discrimination over salary equality still exists.

Thanks to the leadership and dedication of powerful women, we have been given the right to vote, the right to be the head of a household, and the right to pursue leadership roles in the workplace. Unfortunately, most men still receive greater wages than most women. Half of the working class is made up of women, but sadly, women receive just 80 cents for every dollar that a man in the same position earns. This means that if a man makes 10 dollars, a woman makes 8 dollars, often for doing the same amount of work – if not more. The wage gap increases for women of color and for women with various disabilities. Thanks to our President, we are working towards bridging the gap for wage equality between men and women.

Here’s the link to the National Equal Pay Day proclamation.

-Ty