Indiana continues falling way behind on pay equity

INDIANAPOLIS – As Equal Pay Day is recognized nationally on Tuesday, State Reps. Linda Lawson (D-Hammond) and Shelli VanDenburgh (D-Crown Point) said Indiana continues to lag behind in providing equity between the wages earned by working men and women.

“Equal Pay Day is the day where, on average, women’s pay catches up to what men earned the previous year,” Lawson said. “That means it takes a woman a little over 15 months to earn the same amount that a man earns in a year.”

VanDenburgh added, “While there are efforts under way at the national level to do something about this outrageous inequity, we think the time is right to mention that Indiana is particularly guilty of doing nothing about reducing this gap.”

Both lawmakers have made efforts in recent years to force Indiana state government to address the issue.

In 2009, Lawson authored House Enrolled Act 1133, which asked legislative leaders to direct the state’s Pension Management Oversight Commission to conduct a wage equity study of state employees. The request fell on deaf ears.

Earlier this year, Indiana House Republicans rejected a proposal from VanDenburgh to create a commission studying pay disparities between men and women.

“Here are the facts in Indiana: right now working women in our state earn only about 73 cents for every dollar earned by a man,” VanDenburgh said. “In addition, the poverty rate for women and girls in Indiana is 16.8 percent.”

Lawson noted, “The governor and his administration and those in charge of our state government can talk all they want about job creation successes in Indiana, but the fact is that workers here are not making enough money to keep up with the rising costs of health care, school, and all the daily expenses that keep their families’ heads afloat.”

Lawson and VanDenburgh agreed that making sure people who get new jobs have the chance to earn a decent living needs to be a greater priority for state government.

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote this week on the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that requires employers to show that wage differences are caused by job requirements rather than being based on gender. It also protects employees from retaliation when they share information about compensation.

“These issues are imperative throughout the country, but it is important that more be done in states like Indiana, where wage equity seems like an ongoing after-thought,” Lawson said.

“At a time when the wage disparities between the rich and poor are becoming more pronounced in Indiana, we cannot afford to leave more people behind,” VanDenburgh said. “I know that Rep. Lawson and I will continue to do what we can to highlight these inequities and demand that our state government do something about them.”