# data[].attributes.body
In 1963 President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law.

The law requires that men and women who are working the same job be given equal pay for that work.

This policy works against gender pay discrimination in the work place and gives women hope for equal pay.

Unfortunately, we still see today that women are not always given equal pay or equal opportunities in jobs, and do not hold as many leadership roles as men do.

This policy was a great starting point, but had many things to be added to gain even more rights for women's equality. More amendments took place after the 1963 passage of the law.

# data[].attributes.body
·         The National Recovery Act of 1932 made changes that affected government workers. Only one person in a family could work for the government.

o   Resulted in many women losing their jobs

·         In 1937 there Supreme Court was in favor of Washington state’s minimum wage for women workers.

o   Still a states’ issue

·         In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act created a minimum wage that was not reliant on sex or gender.

·         Was not until 1963 until the EPA was passed.

o   On grounds of “equal pay for equal work”

o   Attempted to remove sex discrimination as well as discrimination based on race, religion, or country of origin

·         Did it eliminate the pay gap between men and women?
Quick changes in wages for some women (Snell, 1979).

http://www.nwhp.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-timeline/

# data[].attributes.body
There was a large number of American women obtaining jobs in the war industries during World War II. The National War Labor Board urged employers in 1942 to voluntarily make adjustments which equalize wage or salary rates paid to females with the rates paid to males for comparable quality and quantity of work on the same or similar operations.

Before the Equal Pay Act, newspapers published separate job listings for men and women. Jobs were categorized according to sex, with the higher level jobs listed almost exclusively under "Help Wanted—Male." In some cases the ads ran identical jobs under male and female listings—but with separate pay scales. Separate, of course, meant unequal: between 1950 and 1960,

Women with full time jobs earned on average between 59–64 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earned in the same job.

I President Kennedy enacted the Equal Pay Act (EPA) in 1963. It became illegal to pay women lower rates for the same job strictly on the basis of their sex.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 further strengthened laws against discrimination by making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex for pay benefits, as well as race, color, religion, national origin, age, or disability.

In 2009, President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to further equal pay for women. This allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint against their employer.

# data[].attributes.body
President Kennedy took important steps in the struggle for equality. In1961 Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women. The group explored the barriers to equality for women, including sex discrimination in the workplace.

The commission supported a bill, initially proposed in 1945 by an organization called the Women's Bureau, that would require women to receive equal pay for equal work.

Esther Peterson was an advocate for workers rights. She was also a driving force behind the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. That year, she also was named assistant secretary of labor for labor standards. As the highest-ranking woman in the Kennedy administration, she was responsible for enforcing laws covering minimum wage, work hours and health and safety protections.

1961 President’s Commission on the Status of Women is established, headed by Eleanor Roosevelt. Commission successfully pushes for passage in 1963 of Equal Pay Act, first federal law to require equal compensation for men and women in federal jobs.

During the summer of 1966 Betty Friedan, suggested woman start a group due to women not receiving as much equality as they were hoping for. The organization was names National Organization for Women (NOW). It is considered as the formal beginning of the women's rights movement, or as the continuation of the movement.

# data[].attributes.body
There are many policies and organizations in place to bridge the gap of unequal pay; however, about 50 years women have yet to achieve equal pay. The idea behind the “Equal Pay Act” is for it to provide equal pay to women, who are working the same job as men.

Women are earning 77 cents on the dollar compared to men.

The Equal Pay Act remains a remedy of last and powerful resort, but the changing needs of women workers now go far beyond its original mission. Helping women succeed – including by closing the pay gap for good – will demand a much more comprehensive agenda to transform the American workplace.

# data[].attributes.body
AFL-CIO. (2017). Esther Peterson: Advocate for worker’s rights and consumers. Social Welfare History Project. Retrieved from http://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/organizations/labor/peterson-esther-1906-1997/

AJE Recruiting Specialist. (2017) The History of the Equal Pay Act and Its Impact on Women. Retrieved from http://www.americasjobexchange.com/career-advice/equal-pay-act-for-women

Alter, C. (2015). Here's the history of the battle for equal pay for american women. Retrieved from http://time.com/3774661/equal-pay-history/

American Social Reform Movements Reference Library. (2007) The Women’s Right’s Movement. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=&displayGroupName=Reference&docIndex=&source=DirectLinking&prodId=&mode=view&jsid=858d06f21483db71440c264e51124635&limiter=&display-query=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&windowstate=normal&currPage=&dviSelectedPage=&scanId=&query=&search_within_results=&p=UHIC%3AWHIC&catId=&u=j071909004&displayGroups=&documentId=GALE%7CCX2587100024&activityType=BasicSearch&failOverType=&commentary=

Detailed timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nwhp.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-timeline/

Kim, Anne., (2013, June).  The Equal Pay Act-Powerful But Not Enough. Retrieved from http://www.progressivepolicy.org/issues/economy/the-equal-pay-act-powerful-but-not-enough/

Rowen, Beth., (2017) The Equal Pay Act. Retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/equal-pay-act

Snell, M. (1979). The Equal Pay and Sex Discrimination Acts: Their Impact in the Workplace. Feminist Review, (1), 37-57. doi:10.2307/1394749

# data[].attributes.body
Existence of wage differences based on gender

If women do the same job, and pay the same amount of money for resources, then why don't we get paid the same?

Women facing discrimination in the work place because of their gender. Employers did not want to pay for maternity leave,

This was a wide spread issue impacting women all across the US. Women are only earning 77 cents compared to the dollar that men earn.

This problem was caused by the generational inequality women faced. Women traditionally stayed home and cared for the family while men worked.

# data[].attributes.body
·         Wage discrimination based on gender has a negative effect on the health and work ethic of the employees.

o   Paying women less than men keeps wages low for all

·         Equal wages allow for the company to utilize employees to the max.

o   Recruit qualified workers therefore making good use of good workers.

·         Unequal pay for equal work creates conflict between workers and employers

o   Less conflict can create a work environment that can produce more efficiently

·         Can cause conflict in commerce

·         Promotes unfair competition

o   Competition can influence employee effort
https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm

# data[].attributes.body
A fun example of one way the policy was promoted.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
1966 BATMAN TV SHOW: BATGIRL Equal Pay PSA Commercial

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
http://www.bat-blog.com Here's a unique piece of Batman History. This is a Public Service Announcement for the U.S. Department of Labor using the characters from the 1966 Batman TV Show. It features Batman ( Not Adam West but a unknown actor ), Robin ( Burt Ward ), & Batgirl ( Yvonne Craig ).