Received this e-mail today from Matt Dunne’s (D. VT) gubernatorial campaign:
Today, April 12, 2016, is Equal Pay Day. It’s the day that marks how much longer women need to work -- 103 days more! -- to make the same amount of money as their male equivalents.
My mother was the first woman to go through tenure track and get tenure at Dartmouth College. As I watched her work, I saw firsthand the challenges she faced in establishing equal footing in a male dominated establishment. The changes she made created a much better more inclusive institution, but she would certainly not say the work was complete.
Though I'm glad that Vermont does a bit better than many other states in paying women equally, we still have a very long way to go. That's why I'm calling for serious new initiatives to address this injustice.
The state needs to lead by example and publish statistics on pay equity for state workers. At Logic Associates, the Vermont software company I helped to grow, any employee could see anyone else’s salary. The effect of this transparency was powerful and many felt led to more equity in a field that has not always been inclusive of women. We need to build on the “Equal Pay Compact” launched by the Vermont Commission on Women and encourage private employers to take innovative steps to help close the gap.
Vermont can do better in creating pathways for women in the workforce at all levels. We can increase the reach of career-building organizations such as Step Up, and greatly improve education in traditionally male-dominated industries, like STEM fields and computer programming.
The more women who are in leadership roles in all sectors of the economy, the easier it will be to work with all sectors to close the pay gap. My administration will lead the way by ensuring a diverse set of women are represented across state government, as well as increasing support for women who want to start their own businesses and lead in the private sector.
As long as women are paid less than men for the same work, we cannot stop fighting for equal pay.
When I see my daughter Cora engaging with her two older brothers, I have no doubt that she is their equal (anyone who has met Cora knows what I mean). When her generation is ready for the workplace, it should not be a question that she will receive equal pay for equal work. Vermont can lead the way to equal pay. Let’s do this together.
Matt
Click here to check out Dunne’s Women’s Equality Agenda.