April 2, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: NASW Public Affairs Office
Lahne Mattas-Curry
202-336-8228
lcurry@naswdc.org |
NASW Promotes Equal Pay for Equal Work
April 3rd is EQUAL PAY DAY
WASHINGTON—On Tuesday,
April 3rd, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) joins
the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) to observe Equal Pay Day—a national
day of action to promote fair pay, an issue of economic justice for women and
minorities in America. Tuesday symbolizes the day when women’s wages catch up to
men’s wages from the previous week.
"Social workers across the nation can use Equal Pay
Day as an opportunity to increase awareness and redress the economic inequalites
experienced by women and minorities." says Evelyn Tomaszewski, NASW staff for
the Committee on Women’s Issues. She adds that social workers advocate for the
fairness and equality for all clients and that pay equity benefits not only
women, but men and children as well by increasing family income.
In a recent poll conducted by Lifetime Television,
working women ranked equal pay as a top priority for Congress in 2001. Overall
93% of African-American women, 91% of Latinas, 90% of Asian-American women, and
87% of white women said equal pay and benefits for women should be one of the
top priorities in the United States.
Achieving fair pay for women and people of color
continues to be a struggle. The problem is complex. While earning statistics
don’t tell the whole story, they are an important indicator of the progress we
have made in wage parity and in economic opportunity. Overall, in 1999, the
median annual earnings of women were only 72% of men’s salaries. That’s down
from 73% in 1998. When looking exclusively at the earnings for women of color,
the wage gap is even worse. African-American women make 65% of white men’s
earnings and Latinas only make 52%. Men of color also experience wage
disparities. The ratio for African-American men is 81% while that for Hispanic
men is 61%.
NASW believes that pay equity is an essential
principle of fairness that different people who do the same work be compensated
equally without regard to gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation,
marital status, immigration status or physical ability.
For more information about NASW’s Committee on
Women’s Issues or advocacy information regarding pay equity, please contact NASW
public affairs at 202-336-8228.
For more information about Equal Pay Day, contact
NCPE at fairpay@aol.com or
202-331-7343.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in
Washington, DC, is the largest membership organization of professional social
workers with 153,000 members. It promotes, develops and protects the practice of
social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of
individuals, families and communities through its work and through its
advocacy.
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