Lawson joins coalition in stating that time is NOW for pay equity in Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS – At a time when a Hoosier woman makes only 74 cents to every dollar earned by a Hoosier man, a coalition of lawmakers, business groups, and civic organizations believes Indiana lawmakers should approve wage equity legislation during the 2018 session of the General Assembly.
The group spoke out today at a Statehouse press conference in favor of passage of two measures: House Bill 1390, authored by State Rep. Linda Lawson (D-Hammond), and Senate Bill 93, authored by State Sen. Jean Breaux (D-Indianapolis). Both proposals are designed to strengthen state laws that have not been updated since 1965 by holding employers accountable for wage inequities among their workers and giving the state’s Civil Rights Commission the jurisdiction to investigate and resolve complaints about pay equity filed by employees.
Joining the two legislators at the press conference were officials with the Equality Pay$ Coalition of Indiana, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Indiana, the Indiana Federation of Business and Professional Women, the Indiana League of Women Voters, the Indianapolis National Organization for Women (NOW), Women4Change Indiana, and the Indiana State Conference of NAACP.
“At a time when leaders in state government are proclaiming that Indiana is at the forefront of a changing world economy, it is unconscionable to believe that we should also have one of the widest wage gaps between men and women in the entire country,” Lawson said. “It is impossible to encourage women to come to work in Indiana when it is proven time and again that a woman cannot earn the same amount of money for doing the same work. We must do better, and by passing the legislation authored by Sen. Breaux and myself, we can start doing better. This is not just a women’s issue, it’s an economic issue, a societal issue and a civil rights issue.”
According to the Indiana Institute for Working Families, the wage gap becomes even larger for minority women: 36 percent for African-American and biracial women, and 44 percent for Latinas.
“It is an archaic practice to pay someone less for equal work based solely on their sex, race, or national origin,” said Breaux. “Individuals with the same experience and work ethic should be paid equally.
“My proposal gives the Indiana Civil Rights Commission the authority and jurisdiction to investigate and resolve complaints of unequal pay for the same work,” the senator continued. “Indiana currently has one of the largest wage gaps in the country, at 26 percent. I do not believe Indiana would have such a shocking wage gap if this enforcement mechanism were placed into law.”