English | LEVEL A

The Equal Pay Act: A Law for Justice at Work

El Acta de Igualdad Salarial: Una ley para la justicia en el trabajo

A man and woman each holds a palm up to face the camera. The man is on the left with the word “equal” written on his hand, and the woman is on the right with the word “pay” written on hers

Equal pay for equal work

Salario igual para trabajo igual

Injustice Identified

Imagine that you walk into your classroom and find your graded exam on your desk. You look up to see that many students seem upset, but it is only the female students who are upset. You notice that the girls who answered every question correctly only received a score of 59 out of 100. However, it seems the boys who answered the same questions correctly received a perfect score of 100.

You ask your teacher why there is such a difference between student scores among boys and girls. Your teacher tells you that girls receive fewer points for the same work simply because they are girls. Can you imagine this happening in your class? That wouldn't be fair, would it?

The same kind of unfairness can sometimes show up in our society, too. Would you be surprised to hear that throughout history some people have received less money for doing the same work as others? Terrible news, right? Well, the good news is that there is a law called the Equal Pay Act that helps us prevent that from happening.


History

Historically, women didn't work outside the home very often but instead focused on being wives and homemakers. This was viewed as a woman’s main purpose. In 1880, only 10 percent of women worked outside the home. Back then, those that did work only earned 40 cents for every dollar a man earned. That’s less than half than what men earned! Slowly, over time, more and more women began to acquire jobs and work outside the home. In the 1960s, working women started earning a little bit more. During that time, women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man earned. This was an improvement, but was still only slightly more than half of what men earned.

At that time, most men still wanted women to stay home to be homemakers and raise children. It was a commonly held belief that men's jobs would be unfairly taken away from them if more women joined the workforces. There was also a concern that household chores would not be done if women became busy working outside the home. Unfortunately, because of beliefs like these, women continued to earn less pay for the same work.


The Beginning of Justice

Many people wanted to see a change to these unfair practices. Representatives Katharine St. George from New York and Edith Green from Oregon were two women who worked to see this change. They both served in the US House of Representatives. They helped lead the effort for a new law that eventually passed. Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963.

The Equal Pay Act guarantees that men and women receive the same salary for doing the same work within a workplace. The law also allows employees to file complaints if they believe they are experiencing workplace discrimination. However, despite this great triumph, the work for equality continues. Women today still only make roughly 82 cents for every dollar that a man earns.

La injusticia identificada

Imagina que vez tu examen calificado sobre tu escritorio. Vez que muchas niñas están confundidas. Observas que las niñas con todas las respuestas correctas recibieron un 59 de 100. Los niños con las mismas respuestas correctas recibieron un 100 de 100. Le preguntas al maestro por qué. Responde que las niñas reciben menos puntos por el mismo trabajo porque son niñas. Eso no sería justo, ¿verdad?

Tampoco es justo que personas reciban menos dinero por hacer el mismo trabajo que otros. Lo bueno es que existe una ley llamada el Acta de Igualdad Salarial. Esa ley nos ayuda a evitar que eso suceda.


La historia

Históricamente las mujeres no trabajaban fuera del hogar. Bien pocas mujeres trabajaban fuera la casa en la década 1880. Ellas ganaban 40 centavos por cada dólar que ganaba un hombre en ese entonces. Más mujeres empezaron a trabajar fuera del hogar en la década de 1960. Ellas ganaban 59 centavos por cada dólar que ganaba un hombre en esos tiempos.

Muchos hombres no querían que las mujeres trabajaran fuera del hogar. Pensaban que les quitarían trabajo. También se preocupaban de que los quehaceres del hogar no se realizarán. Entonces les seguían pagando menos a las mujeres por el mismo trabajo.


El comienzo de la justicia

Muchas personas querían ver un cambio. Las representantes Katharine St. George y Edith Green fueron exitosas. Ellas ayudaron a liderar el esfuerzo. Presentaron una nueva ley en el Congreso. El Congreso aprobó esa ley en 1963.

La Ley de Igualdad Salarial garantiza que hombres y mujeres reciban el mismo salario por hacer el mismo trabajo. Hoy en día ha mejorado la situación. Las mujeres ganan 84 centavos por cada dólar que gana un hombre. El trabajo por la igualdad sigue.

Todos tienen derecho a recibir el mismo salario por hacer el mismo trabajo. El género no debería ser aplicado. El acta nos ayuda asegurar que todos reciban un trato justo en el trabajo.

Injustice Identified

Imagine that you walk into your classroom and find your graded exam on your desk. You look up to see that many students seem upset, but it is only the female students who are upset. You notice that the girls who answered every question correctly only received a score of 59 out of 100. However, it seems the boys who answered the same questions correctly received a perfect score of 100.

You ask your teacher why there is such a difference between student scores among boys and girls. Your teacher tells you that girls receive fewer points for the same work simply because they are girls. Can you imagine this happening in your class? That wouldn't be fair, would it?

The same kind of unfairness can sometimes show up in our society, too. Would you be surprised to hear that throughout history some people have received less money for doing the same work as others? Terrible news, right? Well, the good news is that there is a law called the Equal Pay Act that helps us prevent that from happening.


History

Historically, women didn't work outside the home very often but instead focused on being wives and homemakers. This was viewed as a woman’s main purpose. In 1880, only 10 percent of women worked outside the home. Back then, those that did work only earned 40 cents for every dollar a man earned. That’s less than half than what men earned! Slowly, over time, more and more women began to acquire jobs and work outside the home. In the 1960s, working women started earning a little bit more. During that time, women earned 59 cents for every dollar a man earned. This was an improvement, but was still only slightly more than half of what men earned.

At that time, most men still wanted women to stay home to be homemakers and raise children. It was a commonly held belief that men's jobs would be unfairly taken away from them if more women joined the workforces. There was also a concern that household chores would not be done if women became busy working outside the home. Unfortunately, because of beliefs like these, women continued to earn less pay for the same work.


The Beginning of Justice

Many people wanted to see a change to these unfair practices. Representatives Katharine St. George from New York and Edith Green from Oregon were two women who worked to see this change. They both served in the US House of Representatives. They helped lead the effort for a new law that eventually passed. Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963.

The Equal Pay Act guarantees that men and women receive the same salary for doing the same work within a workplace. The law also allows employees to file complaints if they believe they are experiencing workplace discrimination. However, despite this great triumph, the work for equality continues. Women today still only make roughly 82 cents for every dollar that a man earns.

La injusticia identificada

Imagina que entras a tu salón y encuentras el examen de ortografía calificado sobre tu escritorio. Notas que muchas niñas están confundidas. Observas que las niñas escribieron las palabras correctamente pero recibieron un puntaje de 59 de 100. Los niños que escribieron las mismas palabras correctamente recibieron un puntaje perfecto de 100.

Le preguntas al maestro por qué sucede esto. Él te responde que las niñas reciben menos puntos por el mismo trabajo simplemente por ser niñas. Eso no sería justo, ¿verdad?

Tampoco es justo que algunas personas reciban menos dinero por hacer el mismo trabajo que otros. Lo bueno es que existe una ley llamada el Acta de Igualdad Salarial que nos ayuda a evitar que eso suceda.


La historia

Históricamente las mujeres no trabajaban fuera del hogar. Solo el 10 por ciento de las mujeres empezaron a trabajar fuera del hogar en la década 1880. En ese entonces ganaban 40 centavos por cada dólar que ganaba un hombre. Luego más mujeres empezaron a trabajar fuera de la casa. El 34 por ciento de las mujeres trabajaban fuera del hogar en la década de 1960. Las mujeres ganaban 59 centavos por cada dólar que ganaba un hombre en esos tiempos.

La mayoría de los hombres aún no querían que las mujeres trabajaran fuera del hogar. Pensaban que les quitarían trabajo a los hombres y se preocupaban de que los quehaceres del hogar no se realizarán. Entonces le seguían pagando menos a las mujeres por el mismo trabajo.


El comienzo de la justicia

Muchas mujeres y hombres querían ver un cambio a esta práctica injusta. Las representantes Katharine St. George y Edith Green fueron exitosas. Ellas ayudaron a liderar el esfuerzo para una nueva ley que presentaron en el Congreso. El Congreso aprobó la Ley de Igualdad Salarial en 1963.

El Acta de Igualdad Salarial garantiza que hombres y mujeres reciban el mismo salario por hacer el mismo trabajo. Hoy en día ha mejorado a 84 centavos por cada dólar que un hombre gana. El trabajo por la igualdad sigue.

Todos tienen derecho a recibir el mismo salario por hacer el mismo trabajo. El género no debería ser aplicado. El acta nos ayuda a asegurarnos de que todos reciban un trato justo en el trabajo.