In 2008, U.S. women are still paid less then their male counterparts

A lot of time has passed since January 1, hasn't it? Well, if you're a woman in the USA, you've essentially been working for free all year until now.

Today, April 18, is Equal Pay Day. This is the day on which the average woman's wages finally catch up with what the average man earned in 2007.

It is outrageous that today, in 2008, women are still paid considerably less than men are paid for doing the same work. According to the National Women's Law Center, women in the U.S. are still paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to white men -- and the numbers are even worse for women of color, with African-American women earning 63 cents and Latinas earning only 52 cents for every dollar paid to white men.

Clearly this is not fair.

That is why Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) introduced the Fair Pay Act (S.1843), which would "amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to clarify that an unlawful practice occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, and for other purposes."

To be fair to businesses, and to long-term and high-producing employees, the bill also "[a]llows payment of different wages under seniority systems, merit systems, systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production, or differentials based on bona fide factors that the employer demonstrates are job-related or further legitimate business interests."

Sounds reasonable to me.

The bill currently has 42 cosponsors.

A parallel bill has already been passed in the House of Representatives. Now we just need to get it passed in the Senate and signed into law.

Get involved:

>> Send an e-mail message asking your senators to support equal pay for women.

>> Learn more about the Fair Pay Act.